Watch: Red Sox star Jackie Bradley Jr. makes the Willie Mays catch
Red Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. shares the same first name as Jackie Robinson, but he emulated another all-time great on Memorial Day.
In the top of the sixth inning Monday, with the Red Sox leading the Blue Jays 7-2, Toronto batter Kendrys Morales came to the plate looking for his second hit of the day.
Against most other teams, Morales likely would have gotten extra bases on his drive to center field, but Bradley made one of the most impressive plays of the year with his over-the-shoulder grab.
The ball was hit to the deepest part of Fenway Park and Bradley jumped on his horse to get to it. He looked more like a wide receiver catching a pass over his shoulder than a baseball player as he lept to make the grab before softly hitting the center-field wall.
Right fielder Brock Holt had run over to center field to provide backup in case Bradley couldn’t get to it, but he ended up just celebrating with his teammate as he eschewed a handshake or fist pound and went for a hug instead.
Just wow. 🤭 pic.twitter.com/WDHBZcOrCw
— Red Sox (@RedSox) May 28, 2018
The pitcher, Heath Hembree, had a wry smile on his face, as he knew Bradley saved a hit allowed from being added to his stat line. The Red Sox dugout also saluted Bradley by tipping their caps to him.
After the game, Bradley, who has always been a stout defender, was ho-hum about the play and said he expected to make it.
“I always put a high expectation on myself offensively and defensively,” said Bradley, according to ESPN. “I felt like I should make the play.”
Even his teammates have become numb to those kinds of plays.
“That’s kind of what Jackie does,” left fielder Andrew Benintendi said. “He makes those kinds of plays all the time.”
Whenever an outfielder makes an over-the-shoulder catch, it is always compared to “The Catch” by Willie Mays in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series.
63 years ago, he made “The Catch.”
Now, @MLB has renamed the #WorldSeries MVP Award in honor of Willie Mays. https://t.co/6ehvMaWRyP pic.twitter.com/cFh8jPZSwf
— MLB (@MLB) September 29, 2017
Just as we can appreciate both LeBron James and Michael Jordan without comparing the two, we should also be able to appreciate both Bradley and Mays’ catches without declaring which is better.
Bradley also had a pretty good day at the plate with an RBI double, two runs scored and a stolen base.
The Red Sox would go on to win 8-3, thus pushing their record to an MLB-best 37-17. They also widened the gap between them and the Yankees (33-17) to two games after New York lost on Memorial Day to the Astros.
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