OMG... did you guys see "THE CATCH" in centerfield? (1 Viewer)

[Raider Nation]

I'm speechless

I still think Jim Edmonds had the best catch I've ever seen. 3:15 mark of this video. Silly, stupid, insane grab!

 

[Smack Tripper]

I always thought that Edmounds catch is overrated.

This one is not, this might legititmately be the best I've ever seen, wow!

 

[gump]

Incredible....Bo Jackson-esque, but over the fence.

 

[pantagrapher]

He got up so high he didn't even need to extend his arm. Looked like he got back there in plenty of time and the wall was built to accommodate scaling up. Impressive catch, no doubt. But not insanely good.

I definitely think the Edmonds catch is better. Making a catch over the shoulder running away is disorienting enough. To lay out while doing it is amazing. I've seen Sizemore make a couple similar catches. Those and the ones where the outfielder dives toward the field on a dead spring to catch a line drive are some of my favorites.

 

[TBam]

He got up so high he didn't even need to extend his arm. Looked like he got back there in plenty of time and the wall was built to accommodate scaling up. Impressive catch, no doubt. But not insanely good.I definitely think the Edmonds catch is better. Making a catch over the shoulder running away is disorienting enough. To lay out while doing it is amazing. I've seen Sizemore make a couple similar catches. Those and the ones where the outfielder dives toward the field on a dead spring to catch a line drive are some of my favorites.

+1

 

[=Smackdown=]

wow

Spiderman

 

[Mr. Know-It-All]

Gary Matthews Jr made a fairly decent catch a few years ago for the Rangers, yet it is often forgotten.

 

[Smack Tripper]

He got up so high he didn't even need to extend his arm. Looked like he got back there in plenty of time and the wall was built to accommodate scaling up. Impressive catch, no doubt. But not insanely good.

I definitely think the Edmonds catch is better. Making a catch over the shoulder running away is disorienting enough. To lay out while doing it is amazing. I've seen Sizemore make a couple similar catches. Those and the ones where the outfielder dives toward the field on a dead spring to catch a line drive are some of my favorites.

Willie Mays catch is probably the greatest catch WE HAVE ON FILM. Im sure there were great catches back in the day, and legend will tell you there were several great Willie grabs we never saw. But you are talking World Series, NOT NEEDING to dive, and the guy is going to a 483 foot Center field(where he catches it on the warning track a step from the wall. He was then able to wheel and get a pretty good throw back off to home. Maybe we're bored by that catch, but you can't even put Edmounds in the same universe.Personally, I think Griffey Jr.'s rookie year rob of Barfield is the best catch I've seen while playing. What impressed me there is, he was running full speed, ran, jumped and extended all in one motion(not waiting around for the ball). He also barely glances at the wall, it was like a supernatural catch to me.

I will say this, looking for video of that griffey grab, here is a pretty amazing grab in its own right:

 

[pantagrapher]

He got up so high he didn't even need to extend his arm. Looked like he got back there in plenty of time and the wall was built to accommodate scaling up. Impressive catch, no doubt. But not insanely good.

I definitely think the Edmonds catch is better. Making a catch over the shoulder running away is disorienting enough. To lay out while doing it is amazing. I've seen Sizemore make a couple similar catches. Those and the ones where the outfielder dives toward the field on a dead spring to catch a line drive are some of my favorites.

Willie Mays catch is probably the greatest catch WE HAVE ON FILM. Im sure there were great catches back in the day, and legend will tell you there were several great Willie grabs we never saw. But you are talking World Series, NOT NEEDING to dive, and the guy is going to a 483 foot Center field(where he catches it on the warning track a step from the wall. He was then able to wheel and get a pretty good throw back off to home. Maybe we're bored by that catch, but you can't even put Edmounds in the same universe.Personally, I think Griffey Jr.'s rookie year rob of Barfield is the best catch I've seen while playing. What impressed me there is, he was running full speed, ran, jumped and extended all in one motion(not waiting around for the ball). He also barely glances at the wall, it was like a supernatural catch to me.

I will say this, looking for video of that griffey grab, here is a pretty amazing grab in its own right:

I know it's sacred and all, but I don't think the Mays catch measures up by today's standards. Over the shoulder on a dead run toward the wall is almost routine these days.

 

[Smack Tripper]

He got up so high he didn't even need to extend his arm. Looked like he got back there in plenty of time and the wall was built to accommodate scaling up. Impressive catch, no doubt. But not insanely good.

I definitely think the Edmonds catch is better. Making a catch over the shoulder running away is disorienting enough. To lay out while doing it is amazing. I've seen Sizemore make a couple similar catches. Those and the ones where the outfielder dives toward the field on a dead spring to catch a line drive are some of my favorites.

Willie Mays catch is probably the greatest catch WE HAVE ON FILM. Im sure there were great catches back in the day, and legend will tell you there were several great Willie grabs we never saw. But you are talking World Series, NOT NEEDING to dive, and the guy is going to a 483 foot Center field(where he catches it on the warning track a step from the wall. He was then able to wheel and get a pretty good throw back off to home. Maybe we're bored by that catch, but you can't even put Edmounds in the same universe.Personally, I think Griffey Jr.'s rookie year rob of Barfield is the best catch I've seen while playing. What impressed me there is, he was running full speed, ran, jumped and extended all in one motion(not waiting around for the ball). He also barely glances at the wall, it was like a supernatural catch to me.

I will say this, looking for video of that griffey grab, here is a pretty amazing grab in its own right:

Once again, 483 to CF? How deep could he have been playing? That catch to me is just silly, we don't even have any 440 CF's any more if I'm not mistaken.

 

[pantagrapher]

He got up so high he didn't even need to extend his arm. Looked like he got back there in plenty of time and the wall was built to accommodate scaling up. Impressive catch, no doubt. But not insanely good.

I definitely think the Edmonds catch is better. Making a catch over the shoulder running away is disorienting enough. To lay out while doing it is amazing. I've seen Sizemore make a couple similar catches. Those and the ones where the outfielder dives toward the field on a dead spring to catch a line drive are some of my favorites.

Willie Mays catch is probably the greatest catch WE HAVE ON FILM. Im sure there were great catches back in the day, and legend will tell you there were several great Willie grabs we never saw. But you are talking World Series, NOT NEEDING to dive, and the guy is going to a 483 foot Center field(where he catches it on the warning track a step from the wall. He was then able to wheel and get a pretty good throw back off to home. Maybe we're bored by that catch, but you can't even put Edmounds in the same universe.Personally, I think Griffey Jr.'s rookie year rob of Barfield is the best catch I've seen while playing. What impressed me there is, he was running full speed, ran, jumped and extended all in one motion(not waiting around for the ball). He also barely glances at the wall, it was like a supernatural catch to me.

I will say this, looking for video of that griffey grab, here is a pretty amazing grab in its own right:

According to MLB.com, the catch was made 425 feet from home plate (about where Michael Bourn made his falling-down catch in Houston). That's impressive, but a lot depends on where he was playing. I'm also impressed that as stressful of a moment as that must have been, he was mindful of the fact that he had to stay on his feet and make a throw back to the infield. Great stuff. I just think the bar has been raised over the years.

 

[Smack Tripper]

He got up so high he didn't even need to extend his arm. Looked like he got back there in plenty of time and the wall was built to accommodate scaling up. Impressive catch, no doubt. But not insanely good.

I definitely think the Edmonds catch is better. Making a catch over the shoulder running away is disorienting enough. To lay out while doing it is amazing. I've seen Sizemore make a couple similar catches. Those and the ones where the outfielder dives toward the field on a dead spring to catch a line drive are some of my favorites.

Willie Mays catch is probably the greatest catch WE HAVE ON FILM. Im sure there were great catches back in the day, and legend will tell you there were several great Willie grabs we never saw. But you are talking World Series, NOT NEEDING to dive, and the guy is going to a 483 foot Center field(where he catches it on the warning track a step from the wall. He was then able to wheel and get a pretty good throw back off to home. Maybe we're bored by that catch, but you can't even put Edmounds in the same universe.Personally, I think Griffey Jr.'s rookie year rob of Barfield is the best catch I've seen while playing. What impressed me there is, he was running full speed, ran, jumped and extended all in one motion(not waiting around for the ball). He also barely glances at the wall, it was like a supernatural catch to me.

I will say this, looking for video of that griffey grab, here is a pretty amazing grab in its own right:

He was also looking back into the sun for this grab.

 

[Koya]

He got up so high he didn't even need to extend his arm. Looked like he got back there in plenty of time and the wall was built to accommodate scaling up. Impressive catch, no doubt. But not insanely good.I definitely think the Edmonds catch is better. Making a catch over the shoulder running away is disorienting enough. To lay out while doing it is amazing. I've seen Sizemore make a couple similar catches. Those and the ones where the outfielder dives toward the field on a dead spring to catch a line drive are some of my favorites.

+1

Seriously? To be able to gauge the ball's location while you are running, that quickly to then scale a wall? If that's not "insanely good" I dont know what is.

 

[gump]

ESPN ran the top 10 'wall' catches....I thought Lofton's was the best.

 

[Smack Tripper]

ESPN ran the top 10 'wall' catches....I thought Lofton's was the best.

I didn't see it but I remember that, he had a good one.Off the top of my head, the most underrated one was a grab Otis Nixon made. Two vertical steps up in either Fulton County or Pittsburgh, which both had tall walls, to reach over that and bring one back.

 

[Man In The Box]

ESPN ran the top 10 'wall' catches....I thought Lofton's was the best.

As much as I dislike the Mets, the Endy Chavez catch might be the best MLB wall catch I've ever seen. Was it on this list?As far as this catch goes, I think it is the best I've ever seen. I thought it was fake, that's how spectacular it is.

 

[culdeus]

Is my math right in that this wall is at 280 feet?

 

[gump]

ESPN ran the top 10 'wall' catches....I thought Lofton's was the best.

As much as I dislike the Mets, the Endy Chavez catch might be the best MLB wall catch I've ever seen. Was it on this list?

It was #3 or #4 I think...#1 was a Japanese guy from the 80's who climbed the wall, sat there a half sec, then reached back and pulled in the homer.

 

[pantagrapher]

ESPN ran the top 10 'wall' catches....I thought Lofton's was the best.

As much as I dislike the Mets, the Endy Chavez catch might be the best MLB wall catch I've ever seen. Was it on this list?

It was #3 or #4 I think...#1 was a Japanese guy from the 80's who climbed the wall, sat there a half sec, then reached back and pulled in the homer.

Something like that I would call a weird catch, not necessarily a great catch. This thread is about a weird catch. Fun and unique, but more to do with opportunity than talent.

 

[oso diablo]

ESPN ran the top 10 'wall' catches....I thought Lofton's was the best.

I didn't see it but I remember that, he had a good one.Off the top of my head, the most underrated one was a grab Otis Nixon made. Two vertical steps up in either Fulton County or Pittsburgh, which both had tall walls, to reach over that and bring one back.

It was in Fulton, against the Pirates. Off Andy Van Slyke, IIRC. I was at that game. Still gives me chills when i am reminded of it. At the time, we were all just dumb-founded. "Did he actually catch that ball?"

 

[Billy Bats]

Top 50 catches

Here's Best Damn Sports top 50 catches. It's mixed with football but all the plays talked about in here are on the list, with Edmonds topping Mays.

Giles catch at 26 was sick and deserved a higher ranking as was whomever the Dodger catcher was at #42. Completely forgot how insane Matthews Jr. grab was, I'm not sure he was even able to see it into his glove.

 

[Premier]

He got up so high he didn't even need to extend his arm. Looked like he got back there in plenty of time and the wall was built to accommodate scaling up. Impressive catch, no doubt. But not insanely good.

come on.

 

[Mr. Know-It-All]

I completely forgot about Kevin Mitchell's barehanded one handed catch against the Cardinals running from 3B up the kleft field line. At the time it was the coolest catch I'd ever seen.

For some of you younger people, go back and watch film of Ozzie Smith if you want to see a highlight reel of phenomenal catches.

 

[Raider Nation]

I always thought that Edmonds catch is overrated.

Amazing to me that anyone could think this.To be running full speed with your back to home plate -- then DIVE flat out.

It's positively incredible that he could still even see the ball... never mind CATCH it.

 

[bweiser]

they're all impressive. the top 50 goes by quickly, but i don't think i saw TO's catch against the packers in the nfl playoffs. i think that was the greatest nfl catch ever - factor in the d-backs and the pressure of the situation.

 

[wadegarrett]

wow...unbelievable catch

edmonds and lofton catches have always been in my top 5

 

[pantagrapher]

He got up so high he didn't even need to extend his arm. Looked like he got back there in plenty of time and the wall was built to accommodate scaling up. Impressive catch, no doubt. But not insanely good.

come on.

I guess I'm the devil's advocate in this thread. When the camera pans to the outfield, the guy is already on the warning track, approaching the wall at a shallow angle. He runs up the wall, gets up there and has a moment to wait for the ball. And he can afford to wait ... because he's basically standing on a ledge in the wall. If MLB had a center field wall 280 feet from the plate and walls with a ledge near the top, we'd be seeing several catches like this every year.

 

[Horrorshow]

On a related note, some nice cricket catches;

 

[Anthony Borbely]

This catch was great, but not great enough to have its own thread.

 

[DropKick]

He got up so high he didn't even need to extend his arm. Looked like he got back there in plenty of time and the wall was built to accommodate scaling up. Impressive catch, no doubt. But not insanely good.

come on.

I guess I'm the devil's advocate in this thread. When the camera pans to the outfield, the guy is already on the warning track, approaching the wall at a shallow angle. He runs up the wall, gets up there and has a moment to wait for the ball. And he can afford to wait ... because he's basically standing on a ledge in the wall. If MLB had a center field wall 280 feet from the plate and walls with a ledge near the top, we'd be seeing several catches like this every year.

My thoughts are similar to yours; the wall is really conducive to scaling. A "wow" catch and the kid is very athletic but I think the Edmonds catch is more difficult.