Watch incredible glove flip play by second basemen to secure out
Joey Wendle of the Tampa Bay Rays just put a solid twist on the old glove flip play to get an out on what looked like an infield hit waiting to happen.
Justin Bour of the Marlins hit a little bloop fly ball just over the outstretched glove of the pitcher, landing it at the edge of the infield grass.
Wendle, playing the ball on a short hop, didn’t have time to get the ball out of his glove, and with his momentum carrying him toward home plate and away from first base, he had to put a little extra mustard on the flick of his glove in order to get the ball to the first baseman.
Justin Bauers, the Rays’ first baseman in question, made a nifty grab on the glove flip in order to secure the ball and the out as well.
The whole thing unfolded in the blink of an eye, but the slow-motion replays show just how impressive the play was.
How is that possible, @JoeyWendle?! 😱 pic.twitter.com/cmijy7c1CW
— MLB (@MLB) July 21, 2018
Any time you’re using a baseball glove — a webbed surface with lots of little edges on which a ball can have its motion arrested or redirected — to try to control and throw a ball, it’s an adventure waiting to happen as the ball could go just about anywhere.
Had the bases not been empty, Wendle might simply have had to keep the ball in his glove, granting Bour a hit.
As it stood, it was the first out of a 1-2-3 fourth inning for Rays pitcher Nathan Eovaldi, who started the game and who, except for a home run given up in the third to Derek Dietrich, had a great outing.
Miami did break the game open in the seventh as soon as Eovaldi was on the bench, however, and sent Rays fans home disappointed from a 6-5 loss by the home team.
As MLB’s own Cut4 pointed out, the glove flip is one of the prettiest plays a second baseman can make.
Chase Utley of the Dodgers pulled off a glove flip from a good 60 feet up the line, using his glove to throw a 20-yard laser worthy of an NFL quarterback throwing a football that distance.
But Utley gave one of those standard underhand glove tosses, which are easier to control because an underhand throw is a more natural motion.
Wendle’s contribution to the craft was to do a reverse glove flip, a far less natural motion with all kinds of potential for error.
The Rays and Marlins may be franchises going nowhere, but Friday night, they put on quite a show.
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