Rockies outfielder Kyle Parker crashes into fan, makes incredible catch
Colorado Rockies rookie outfielder Kyle Parker is probably getting tired of taking the shuttle back and forth to Triple-A. Over the past two seasons, Colorado’s first round pick in the 2010 draft has been recalled five times, but has never stuck around more than a few weeks.
In basic terms, Parker has been relegated to short-term fill-in when there’s an injured regular. Some would also call his position the Four-A player role, which basically means he’s too advanced for Triple-A but still isn’t ready for prime time. That’s not a spot teams envision for former first-round picks. However, based on Parker’s performance and his effort this time around, it seems he’s ready for a more prominent and permanent role.
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During Tuesday’s loss to the Seattle Mariners, Parker muscled up for his first career home run — a 454-foot shot to the Fernando Rodney forest in straight away center field. During Wednesday’s 7-5 win, the former University of Clemson quarter back impressed again, this time calling upon his fearless football skills to make one of the best catches we’ve seen all season.
It happened in the sixth inning with Colorado trailing 3-0. Ketel Marte hit a pop fly down the left field line that forced Parker to cover some serious ground to make a play. As Parker pursued, the ball keeping to slice toward the seats, which forced Parker to make a decision: either pull up and hoped it lands in the stands, or sell out and hope for the best.
Without hesitation, Parker lowered his pads and sold out. The result was a great catch as he tumbled into the stands and through an unfortunate fan who’d made the same decision to sell out.
Fortunately, nobody was injured in the making of this highlight, but it will definitely leave a mark.
Bringing another sport into the conversation, if this were an NBA game, Parker definitely would have been whistled for a charge.
Unless Joey Crawford was the official.
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As we noted earlier, the Rockies would go on to win the game 7-5. That result may have been possible even without Parker’s catch, but it would not have been possible without his game-tying single against Fernando Rodney in the ninth. That sent the game to extra innings, where Michael McKenry walked off with a two-run homer.
Needless to say, this was a productive 24 hours for Kyle Parker that could improve his standing with the Rockies moving forward. If he sticks around awhile, this could stand as his true breakout performance.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
