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Rafael Palmeiro reached when Baerga dropped an infield pop fly for an error. Cook retired the next two batters, but Monty Fariss singled Downing in, and Dean Palmer doubled Palmeiro home before Dickie Thon grounded to third for the final out. Both runs were unearned, but Texas had a 2-1 lead. Cleveland’s finish was only a game better than the Rangers—but a 19-game improvement over the 1991 Indians. Within three years, Cleveland’s youth movement resulted in a .694 winning percentage in 1995, second-best in franchise history, and the Indians claimed their first pennant since 1954.
It came on July 17, 2004, against Detroit’s Jeremy Bonderman. Footage of this incredible catch can be seen here. No major emotion, no flashiness, no nothing. Just good old-fashioned baseball purity. There's nothing better than robbing the other team of a home run, especially if it's during a rivalry game. Here we have one of the many legendary catches from the Japanese league.
[email protected]: Lofton gets his fifth hit of the game
In this particular case, Lofton chases the ball down to the wall, steps on the wall to push himself up and then reaches over the fence to make an epic catch. Kenny Lofton might easily be one of the most underrated fielders of all time. The man had tremendous speed and took home four Gold Gloves in his 17-season career. This catch occurred against the always-pesky Los Angeles Angels, whose short porches in left field provide some great home runs but also just ask for home run robbery. In his prime, besides being a great fielder, Andruw Jones was also a fine power hitter who could be counted on for home runs a year. In this particular case, Jones thought he had a grand slam in the bag.
Though his best days may be behind him, fans can still reminisce about the days before Carlos Beltran's knees went to the dogs and the man was still a defensive force in the outfield. That is, of course, until outfielder Juan Pierre spoiled the party with a great catch. For most of his career, Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Shane Victorino has been known as "The Flyin' Hawaiian." This particular catch he made while playing with the Detroit Tigers robbed Cleveland Indians outfielder Grady Sizemore of a home run. Thon led off with a single to left. One out later, Newman reached on an error by shortstop Lewis.
[email protected]: Jackie Bradley Jr. makes a fine diving grab
Pavlik walked Albert Belle and Mark Whiten to load the bases, but escaped further damage by striking out Paul Sorrento and getting Brook Jacoby to line out to right. I'm still trying to get over the wow factor on this one. Hiroshima Carp outfielder Amaya Soichiro not only climbs the wall in this clip, but the man STANDS ON TOP OF THE WALL.
Christopher grabbed Thon’s bunt and forced Reimer at third. After allowing González’s RBI single in the second, Nichols retired 11 of 12 batters, allowing just a fourth-inning walk to Downing. But he ran into trouble in the sixth. With one out in the top of the first, Cleveland’s Mark Lewis doubled. Carlos Baerga reached on a single to the shortstop; Lewis scored, and Baerga took second on the throw to the plate.
[email protected]: A. Garcia makes a fine sliding grab
The man had speed, unbelievable power to all fields and on top of that, he played football during the offseason. This particular catch occurred at Shea Stadium against the St. Louis Cardinals. Outfielder Ryan Ludwick launched a drive to centerfield and Beltran showed some NBA-like moves with his jump and the turnaround following the catch.
He struggled at the plate early on and was dropped to ninth after batting .214 in his first 20 games. But Lofton also had some pop in his bat. He belted 130 career home runs—119 from the leadoff spot—while reaching double figures in seven seasons.
12 This was Christopher’s fourth major-league appearance. After three games for the Los Angeles Dodgers, he had been traded along with Cook to Cleveland. Christopher had arrived earlier in the day from Triple-A Colorado Springs. He would appear in four games in the next 12 days before being sent back down. He was called back up in September and pitched in five more games. Palmeiro reached on first baseman Sorrento’s error, Cleveland’s fourth of the game, to start the eighth, but he was stranded at second when Derek Lilliquist struck out Reimer.
The catch I've chosen to spotlight occurred against my beloved New York Yankees, but it's so good that it can't go unnoticed despite the fact that it may have broken some fans' hearts. Just when you thought you had enough reasons to think that reigning NL MVP Ryan Braun was awesome, here I have found another one. Not only does he rob San Francisco Giants outfielder Cody Ross of a home run in this clip, but he gloats about it afterward. In a game that featured his then-team, the Milwaukee Brewers, against the San Francisco Giants, Mike Cameron flashed the leather in such a way that the fans were not used to seeing from him. Here are the 20 best home run robberies in baseball history. 9 Lofton hit just one other homer from the bottom spot in the lineup.
Here, we have the original Spiderman catch. Masato Akamatsu of the Hiroshima Carp not only runs up the wall to make this acrobatic play, but his reaction afterward is priceless. There's nothing better than watching a charismatic player take away a home run from a hitter considered by many to be a major-league jerk. Besides being a monster athlete and completely ripped, there was a time when Gabe Kapler had a reputation as a decent outfielder.
In this case, his good defense comes in the form of a home run he robbed from Russell Martin at Dodger Stadium. Not only does he make the catch, but he puts his body on the line in doing so by half-falling into the stands. Watch the video to your left and see simple poetry in motion. It wasn't fancy, but the swagger with which Cameron handled it was epic. He made the catch and then just trotted in from the outfield as if to say, "No biggie." Check out this clip from his glory days, when he took a home run away from Shawn Green.
After Rodriguez popped out, Jack Daugherty’s pinch-hit double down the left-field line scored Palmer and make the score 8-7. With the tying run on third, Eric Plunk13 came out of the Indians bullpen and retired Downing on a foul pop to first base. The Rangers were an AL-best 13-6 on the road but had gone 3-7 during their first homestand of the season. They would ultimately lose the game, but not before outfielder Endy Chavez kept hopes alive with a spectacular catch off the bat of Scott Rolen. This catch occurred during his glory days with the Cleveland Indians, with whom he spent three different stints.
In his junior year, he played part-time on the Arizona baseball team and was impressive enough to be drafted in the 17th round by the Houston Astros in 1988. Lofton moved quickly through the minors. After hitting .331 with 62 steals for Osceola in the Florida State League in High-A, he was promoted straight to Triple A in Tucson of the Pacific Coast League in 1991.
He hit .308 with 17 triples and 40 steals in 130 games and earned a September call-up to the Astros. Reed Johnson has made a name for himself as an average outfielder around the major leagues, but he'll probably be best known for this catch once he has retired. The perfect instance of this occurred in the first inning of the 2002 MLB All-Star Game, when centerfielder Torii Hunter jumped the wall and snagged a homer away from Barry Bonds. Easily one of the greatest athletes of all time, it's truly a shame that injuries derailed Bo Jackson's baseball career.
Though the ball in the picture to the left may have escaped him, Seattle Mariners outfielder Franklin Gutierrez has become a whiz at home run robbery. The catch of his that I've chosen to showcase occurred during the 2010 season against the Los Angeles Angels. With Nate Schierholtz at the plate, Cameron followed the hitter's drive to centerfield and just reached over the wall to pull it down. Though some fans may know him now for his rapid decline, there was a time when Andruw Jones was easily the best centerfielder in the game. 8 This was Campbell’s first career relief appearance and his first major-league action since he started for the Seattle Mariners on April 26, 1989. This would be his only game of the 1992 season.
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