A man not known for his defensive prowess, San Francisco Giants outfielder Kevin Mitchell made one of the most athletic catches of all time.
Another day without live baseball leaves us looking through the archives of old baseball games, trying to recall what it was like to love America’s favorite past time. There is was, on this day back in 1989 when San Francisco Giants outfielder Kevin Mitchell made one of the most athletic, one handed grabs ever seen on a baseball diamond.
Today In 1989: San Francisco Giants outfielder Kevin Mitchell makes an amazing barehanded grab of Ozzie Smith's fly ball! #SFGiants #STLCards #MLB #Baseball #History pic.twitter.com/zHIXzt3BXS
— Baseball by BSmile (@BSmile) April 26, 2020
After watching this play over and over, there are so many aspects of this catch to love. Aside from the great nostalgia which goes along with the play, the man does actually make a really good catch.
Mitchell, a short stocky guy, seems to run like a gazelle when chasing this ball down. Like a wide receiver, he puts his head down and runs towards a spot, then at the last second throws his hand up is utter desparation.
One could argue he takes a bad route, while I say he is running full tilt at a ball slicing away from him. As he approaches the foul line he makes a slight jump mid stride and throws up his off-hand, and the ball sticks.
Hard to tell if the ball would have fallen in fair territory or not, but Mitchell makes it a moot point when he gathers the ball in.
Infielders make bare handed plays all the time. Usually, they are coming in on a slow roller and not when they are running away from the ball. Usually, they have time to square up on the ball and have good balance. Rarely are they blindly throwing up a hand in a last ditch attempt. For that ball to stick to, like he applied stick ’em on this paws before the inning.
The ambiance of the stadium adds to the overall greatness of the play. I love my stadiums to have the logos of all the teams in the league on the outfield wall. Who needs the revenue from the advertising (well the team does, and I am partial to the Who But, W.B. Mason signage, old school), let’s get those logos back up there.
How about as Mitchell braces against the wall, the door pops open. These little novel corridors gave stadiums character back in the day.
Kevin Mitchell was an MVP with the San Francisco Giants in 1989 after leading the league with 47 home runs and 125 runs driven in. I think his ’89 campaign is best remembered by his one handed haul in, however.