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Steve Donohue, Bruce Dreckman and the moth that brought them together

The Yankees' trainer recalls his encounter with an infested umpire
08/10/2018 10:59 AM ET
By Lou DiPietro
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NEW YORK - Stevie Donohue has spent 33 seasons as one of the New York Yankees' athletic trainers, and the last seven as the head of the staff, so you'd think that by now, he's seen it all.

Perhaps now he has, after Wednesday night - when, late in the Yankees' 7-3 win over the White Sox in Chicago, a very large moth flew into umpire Bruce Dreckman's ear, and it was up to Donohue to help Dreckman evict the unwanted flying object.

Oh nothing, just an MLB umpire pulling A GIGANTIC LIVE BUG OUT OF HIS EAR. pic.twitter.com/wDvLDVVdu9

- YES Network (@YESNetwork) August 9, 2018


"At first I didn't see (Dreckman), but someone said he was coming our way, and I needed to try to help him," Donohue told Meredith Marakovits prior to Thursday's game. "He told me a bug flew into his ear, and I was expecting a small gnat or a mosquito or something."

Instead, it was a giant moth, one that required Donohue to dig deep into his medical bag of tricks.

"I tried with a cotton-tip applicator, and nothing is coming out, so he asked me if I had tweezers," Donohue said. "I got them out of the kit and I started in there a little bit, but then I told him he might want to try it himself, because I didn't want to dig too deep."

Dreckman finally reached the moth inside his ear, and eventually, with a little more of an assist from Donohue, visiting hours inside Dreckman's ear canal were over.

"I don't know if he was "Bats in the Belfrey," but that was a big moth, I'm going to tell you," Donohue laughed. "This thing was flying!"

As for the reaction on the field after the incident?

"I can't repeat the language. It was crazy. It was nuts," Donohue smiled. "He had to be feeling terrible because this thing was big and flapping, and I can't imagine what was going on inside his head. Though, some of these umpires, I don't know what's going on inside their heads anyway!"

Donohue couldn't remember off the top of his head, and wouldn't venture a guess, if he's seen anything crazier in his years, outside of maybe, he mentioned, the midges that bugged Joba Chamberlain during Game 2 of the 2007 American League Division Series in Cleveland.

Still, it's something he can't wait to talk about with Gene Monahan, his best friend and boss of 26 years, when the former head trainer returns this weekend for the Yankees' celebration of the 1998 World Series Championship team.

"Geno's not only a mentor, he's my best friend; we're still like family, and we talk all the time," Donohue said of Monahan, who retired after the 2011 season but still partakes in team celebrations and helps out during Spring Training every year. "He's still a big part of the Yankees family, and we're glad we get to see him every spring."

"Moth-gate" was the end of just another very long work day for the 61-year-old Donohue, who usually arrives at the stadium about seven hours before game time for night games, but with all the long hours and craziness that ensues, he'd still rather have this job than any other.

"Oh, man, I love what I do," he smiled. "You have to have a passion for this game and the profession to be an athletic trainer, and I love it!"

Like Lou DiPietro on Facebook and follow him on Twitter @LouDiPietroYES for more.
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