I'm guessing that Nashville Sounds manager Don Money didn't have his team work on this during the spring.
But if the skipper does have a page in his notebook devoted to the ol' off-the-glove, off-the-head, make-the-catch, then-complete-the-triple-play, his team executed it flawlessly in Omaha on Saturday night.
In the bottom of the third inning with runners on first and second, Nashville outfielder Logan Schafer broke forward instead of back on a drive to center field hit by Omaha's Clint Robinson. The ball appeared to be headed over Schafer's head, but he changed course quickly and started to run back, at least giving himself a chance to track it down.
What happened next dwarfed in awesomeness the two major league triple plays ? one at Milwaukee and the other at Boston ? turned in earlier in the week:
In case you don't believe your eyes, that really happened.
Schafer got just enough of his glove on the ball to keep it in the air. The ball bounced off�his head, and he snared it with his glove. With the play still live and Omaha's baserunners more or less bewildered, Schafer made a quick throw to second baseman Eric Farris, who stepped on the bag�and�relayed the ball to first baseman Mat Gamel to complete the triple play.
After everyone processed what happened, what was the reaction in the Sounds dugout, Mr. Schafer?:
"It was a little bit of disbelief and a lot of humor," [Schafer] said. "When the ball hits you on your head, it's pretty embarrassing, but I'm glad I could catch it. They were all laughing quite a bit, it's a pretty funny play. Everyone was kind of in disbelief and they were all cracking up."
There was probably a good amount of relief to go with that disbelief. If Schafer doesn't make the catch, at least two runs score and perhaps Omaha produces an even bigger inning.
Instead, the Sounds got their triple play and eventually went on to a 4-1 win. Goofy plays are much more fun when they also save the game.
One more thing: Nashville actually is the Milwaukee Brewers' Triple-A affiliate, so perhaps Schafer was just reminding the parent club that he could turn three just like the big leaguers do.
Big BLS H/N: Bob's Blitz
Follow Ian on Twitter ? @iancass ? and engage The Stew on Facebook
Other popular stories on Yahoo! Sports:
? Video: Tribute brings baseball great to tears
? Top 10 college football teams' potential 'fatal flaw'
? Chad Ochocinco makes a bold wager against Michael Vick
Utah Jazz Detroit Pistons Miami Heat Los Angeles Clippers New York Jets
No comments:
Post a Comment