A host of details go into an outfielder’s ability to throw out a runner tagging up on a fly ball. Those details begin with getting a good read on the ball off the bat, so the outfielder can settle into position under the fly ball as it drops from the sky. You’ll want to get “behind the ball” as it comes down, so you can gain some forward momentum into the throw. You’ll also want to have your throwing leg back and your glove leg in front at the catch, so you can transition into the throw quickly using a “pro-step” and minimize any movement as a baserunner gains two steps for every wasted step by a fielder.
Or you could just have an absolute howitzer for an arm.
The latter is the approach taken by Ronald Acuña Jr. on Friday night, as the Atlanta Braves outfielder delivered what might just be the best throw you will ever see, regardless of sport.
With the Braves holding a 3-0 lead over the visiting New York Yankees in the third inning last night, the visitors were threatening. New York had runners on first and second with just one out, and Cody Bellinger was at the dish.
Bellinger worked the count to 2-2, fouling off a few tough pitches from Spencer Strider, before lifting a deep fly ball to right field off a slider down-and-in. Acuña settled under the fly ball on the warning track near the foul line, caught it over his shoulder, and then, without any movement at all, simply unleashed an absolute rocket into third base as New York’s Jorbit Vivas was tagging up from second:
Okay.
As someone paid to describe sporting moments, I am at a loss to describe this throw beyond saying THIS IS MIND-BLOWING. Acuña makes this throw without a crow-hop or a pro-step; he simply catches the ball over his shoulder, pivots, and throws a supersonic missile into third baseman Nacho Alvarez Jr. And some credit goes to Alvarez who sold the play at the end, waiting until the last possible moment to get his glove out to snare this frozen rope from Acuña.
Leaving Vivas, and the rest of us, absolutely stunned.
And let’s not forget that this throw comes in from deep right field IN THE AIR. At one point, as this baseball version of a Concorde travels over second base, it seems as if the ball is still rising, before dropping right into Alvarez’s glove for the stunning double play to end the inning.
You can watch baseball … heck, you can watch every sport imaginable, for the next ten years and not see a better throw.
Oh and Acuña also went 2-for-3 with a double and a triple.
Not a bad night at the ballpark.
