PHILADELPHIA – After the game, Michael Harris II knew where his unreal catch – one of the best home run robberies you will ever see – ranked among the grabs he has made since childhood.
“I’d say one. Probably one,” he said. “Because I had to actually go over the wall to make it. So, yeah, probably one.”
How could anything have been better than this?
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Austin Hays drove a ball to right-center field off Max Fried. It carried and carried, then carried some more. Harris jogged back toward the right-center field wall and looked up at the ball as he did so. Then he glanced at the wall to gauge how much space he had, then turned his head back toward the ball, leaped at the wall, flashed his glove and … caught it! He had to hang over the wall as he brought it back.
The Citizens Bank Park crowd initially thought it was a homer. And Harris wasn’t even sure if he’d caught it.
“It’s one of those feelings – like when you’re hitting, you don’t feel it off the bat,” he said. “It hit perfectly in the web (of the glove) and I was coming back from the fence, I saw the Phillies pitchers in awe, and that’s when I really knew I caught it. It was pretty cool to make that catch and then have some Phillies – even though we have that rivalry – give me a hats off and applause.”
There certainly were a few amazed Oohs and Ahhs in the pro-Phillies crowd when fans realized Harris had the ball – a sign of their appreciation for a wonderful catch, even if it went against them.
The Phillies’ relievers were right behind Harris. The ball would’ve landed in their bullpen.
“It didn’t really kick in until I saw their faces,” Harris said. “I knew I’d made contact with it, and then when I squeezed and felt some weight in there, I knew it was in there.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Back at second base, Hays took off his helmet and stretched out his arms as if to say, “Are you serious?” He was in disbelief. He cracked a bit of a smile and chuckled. What could he do? He would’ve had a homer if not for one of the best catches of this season – if not the best.
“I was surprised that it went that far and I was surprised that I caught it, and I’m pretty sure he was, too,” Harris said.
From the mound, Fried tipped his cap toward Harris. He was grateful because this would’ve been the third home run he’d allowed in this game. Instead, it became the first out. (He later gave up a run in another way in this inning.)
Fried wasn’t sure if it would be a homer. He looked back and watched Harris.
“Once I saw him sort of slow down, I was like, ‘Oh, is he gonna go to the track?’ And then eventually, I saw him make the jump and as soon as he jumped, I immediately thought, ‘Homer.’ And (he) went over, came back and had the ball, and I was completely shocked,” Fried said. “The first thing I had to do was just tip my hat, because that’s a really special play.”
In his office after the game, Braves manager Brian Snitker praised his center fielder.
“That’s probably the catch of the year right there,” Snitker said. “That’s what I told him, I said, ‘We’ll be watching that for another 24 hours.’ Great catch. In a game like this, too, a huge catch – because we’re a hit away from getting something going.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
The Braves lost, 3-0, to the Phillies. But Harris’ catch was one of the top highlights of the season. It came in defeat, but was one of the jaw-dropping plays that makes you fall further in love with baseball.
Harris is one of the game’s top defensive center fielders. He can get to any ball, from gap to gap – and, apparently, even beyond the wall.
“It’s God-given stuff that those kind of players have, quite honestly,” Snitker said. “Because it’s nothing you work on, you don’t teach that. It’s just a God-given ability, to do that – the instinct and the whole thing.”
When Harris reached the dugout after the seventh inning ended, his teammates greeted him at the steps. Some of them told him it was one of the best plays they’d seen. He got high-fives from everyone.
Fried gave him a hug.
“I’ve never had a home run robbery while I was pitching,” Fried said. “Had a couple close calls, but nothing quite to that extent. The way that he slowed down to time it and to do all that in one motion, it’s special. He’s incredible out there. It’s probably the best catch that I’ve had behind me for sure.”
The ball, far as it flew, ended as a 403-foot flyout – not a home run.
Harris ended up with the best catch of his baseball life.
“I’ve been trying to do that for a while, haven’t came down with it,” Harris said. “So, that felt a little good.”
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