Sorcery, Pt. 2
OK, we lied, THIS is the strangest hop in baseball history
It appears we may have jumped the gun.
On Tuesday, we told you that this was the strangest hop in baseball history, no hyperbole. At the time, it sure seemed like it was! All Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson could do was give the straight-faced, dead-eyed look into the camera after it happened. There was nothing he could do. Here it is again:
I mean ... were we wrong? Had you ever seen a ball react like that? You're going to look at me and tell me I'm wrong?!?! She came down in a bubble Doug. GROW UP!!
Well, it looks like we were very wrong, because a mere 24 hours later baseball fans were treated to an equally strange and arguably even more strange hop in Arizona, where the San Francisco Giants faced off with the Diamondbacks. In the bottom of the sixth, Arizona right fielder Jake McCarthy ripped one right back toward the feet of Giants pitcher Carlos Rodon. The ball struck Rodon's foot, which usually results in a ricochet that leads to an infield single, or a tough play for the pitcher who has to find the ball and throw it to first. The play becomes significantly less tougher, however, when the ball richochets DIRECTLY into the pitcher's glove, like it did in this case. What. On. Earth.
The commentator couldn't have said it any better. You may never see a defensive play like it again. Notice how Rodon looks for the ball that's already in his glove. Not even he realized it happened. One in a million, indeed.
By the way, that wasn't the last we heard from Rodon's feet on Tuesday evening (sorry if that got weird). Not long after that ridiculous ricochet, Rodon's night was over, and after giving up five runs on only three hits, the lefty took out his frustration on a bat in the dugout by kicking it. It wound up hitting teammate Thairo Estrada in his leg. Yikes!
"I just feel stupid," Rodon said afterward, adding that it was an "unacceptable" and "selfish" action. What a strange, strange night in the desert.