On July 1, 2006, Gary Matthews Jr., then of the Texas Rangers made what I would describe as the best home run stealing catch I have ever seen. He ran the ball down, jumped, then jumped off the wall to catch the ball that was destined for the bullpen.
And of course I will never forget watching Reed Johnson tracking down a towering fly ball off the bat of Prince Fielder last year, timing the jump and taking away a grand slam.
As an outfielder, that's the play I've always dreamed of. For as long as I've played in the field, I've always wanted to take away a home run. Sure diving and sliding catches are nice, but you get chances at those kinds of plays at least two or three times a year and even more in practice. I still love making them, but taking away the home run is the holy grail of catches.
It's the holy grail of catches because the opportunity is so rare, and making it is even more rare. In my entire life of playing baseball, I've had maybe one legitimate chance to take one away, and I didn't make the catch. Everything has to be right; the spot it's hit to, the height of the ball as it goes over the fence, your positioning, getting to the spot, finding the fence, the wind not getting it, timing the jump. After all this time, I have been convinced that taking away a home run is something I might be able to do once in my entire lifetime.
Last night, I did it.
After our third baseman turned a brilliant double play with the bases loaded, there were runners on first and second with two out. Right off the bat I knew the ball was going deep. I ran to the spot where it was coming down, two steps in front of the fence and looked up again to find it. I found it and could tell it was gonna be tight. Two more steps back and I could feel the fence with my throwing hand. As the ball came down I knew I'd have to leap to get it. I jumped, I reached up, and watched the ball into my glove and as I did I noticed my glove was about a foot and a half above the black piping on the top of the fence. As I hit the ground I held the ball up over my head in my glove for the umpire to see.
It wasn't until one of the other outfielders came over and mauled me that I realized what I had done. It happened so fast and without any conscious thought that I didn't really process what had happened until that moment; when the black piping and my arm above it registered in my mind. I had just taken away a home run.
As I jogged into the dugout, one of my teammates yelled "is that a smile I see on your face?" Yes, it was. I couldn't help myself. I could have gone 0-for-10 that game and I wouldn't have cared (as it was I went 0-for-4); that ball hit to the right center field gap that I probably should have caught was immediately forgotten. Nothing else I could have done in that game mattered.
After the game I told one of my teammates that I had a strange feeling I would take away a home run in that game. The truth is I convince myself that I will do something spectacular in the field before every game. It's very rare that I do anything spectacular, maybe once or twice a season, but going into every game ready to do something spectacular is a big reason why I think I'm able to make those kinds of plays from time to time. I really do feel that visualizing, seeing myself dive or jump or slide, makes a difference.
So there it is folks, probably the best catch I'll ever make.
-matt
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