Two Plays

"Every time you watch a game, you see something new." It is one of baseball's oldest cliches--and it is only slightly an exaggeration. While every game doesn't produce a new occurrence, most games provide you with at least a different sequence of events, one that is different from anything else that has happened previously. And then there was last night, where two different major leaguers pulled off plays that I have never seen despite watching thousands of ballgames since the early 1970s. First, there was David Wright's miraculous barehanded catch against the Padres. With the Mets' young star playing normal depth at third base, a broken-bat, opposite-field blooper appeared headed toward a safe landing in short left field. Racing toward the outfield with his back completely toward the infield, Wright reached out with his bare hand and grabbed the ball on the fly. There was no unnecessary showboating on the play, either; given the angle that Wright took toward the ball, he would have had no chance to make the play with his glove hand. He simply had to barehand the ball, or watch it drop in for either a single or a double. For many fans, the play was reminiscent of a fly ball that the Giants' Kevin Mitchell caught with his bare hand back in 1989. Mitchell's play was probably more difficult, if only because the ball was hit harder, but Wright's play was more athletic and acrobatic. As of right now, it ranks as the defensive play of the year.

Wright's wondrous play overshadowed another unique occurrence last night. Another National League third baseman, Dodgers rookie Oscar Robles, actually swung at a pitch that bounced in front of home plate--it must have been about a 57-footer--and lined a single into left field. Up until now, Robles has been best known for playing in the Mexican League, but he's pretty much guaranteed that he'll have a different legacy from this point forward. Now I've heard many times from older generations of fans that Hall of Famer Yogi Berra used to swing at--and somehow hit--pitches in the dirt, but I've never actually SEEN it happen. Until last night, that is. Hitting a bounced pitch with a racket would be tough enough; hitting one with a rounded baseball bat strikes me as nearly impossible. The most well-known bad-ball hitters in baseball history--including Berra, Roberto Clemente, Manny Sanguillen, and Ichiro--would have been proud of Robles' feat.

Two plays. Two different games. Two things that I've never seen before. Only in baseball.