Table of Content
- [email protected]: Molina pulls home run over the wall
- Jose Guillen gives A's the lead in 4th inning of Game 5
- Kenny Lofton robs a home run
- No. 11: Kenny Lofton Does His Spiderman Impression
- [email protected]: Cabrera robs Puig with fine diving grab
- [email protected]: Aybar makes a leaping grab, robs Hernandez
Downing followed with a single to score Thon. Cleveland right-hander Mike Christopher12 relieved Nichols and ended the threat by getting Palmeiro to fly to shallow right and striking out Gonzalez. An inning later, Pavlik allowed singles to Junior Ortiz and Lofton before Lewis smacked a one-out single to score Ortiz and tie the game.
Baseball fans primarily think of Kenny Lofton as a pesky leadoff hitter who terrorized teams on the basepaths. In his first five full major-league seasons, from 1992 to 1997, he led the American League each year in steals, averaging 65 per year. He finished his 17-season career in 2007 with 622 stolen bases, as of 2022 the 15th-most in major-league history and trailing only Vince Coleman among players who debuted in 1980 or later. Brian Downing started the bottom half with an infield single to shortstop and was balked to second.
[email protected]: Molina pulls home run over the wall
If the Seattle Mariners want to start contending again, Trayvon Robinson may be the key to future success. The kid has it all in speed, ability to hit and also plays great defense. 14 After starting just 12 times in 286 appearances from 1989 through 1992, Rogers transformed into a starter. Beginning in 1993, he started 462 of his last 476 appearances. At the end of season, Palmeiro’s prediction was unfulfilled—the Rangers finished on the road, but just at home.
In the at-bat, second baseman Howie Kendrick launched a drive to centerfield that Gutierrez just tracked down perfectly. He ran to the wall, did a little bunny hop so his arm could get over the fence and pulled the ball in with ease. Nothing pumps up baseball fans more than an epic catch. It could be a diving catch, one over the shoulder or one on the run that is just plain awesome. 15 It was his sixth save of the season. He finished with a career-high 29 saves before dying in a tragic boating accident in spring training the following year along with teammate Tim Crews.
Jose Guillen gives A's the lead in 4th inning of Game 5
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.
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.
Kenny Lofton robs a home run
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.
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.
No. 11: Kenny Lofton Does His Spiderman Impression
After Campbell pitched a perfect seventh, Texas rallied. Sierra lined a triple on a full-count pitch and scored on Kevin Reimer’s single to right. Palmer reached on third baseman Jacoby’s error to put two on with no outs.
It's not fancy, but still a showcase of great athleticism. It isn't a fancy catch, but sometimes less is more. Thus, it is the perfect one to kick off the countdown.
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.
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 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.
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 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.
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