Pedro Alvarez makes fantastic diving stop, drops ball while running to first

A great defensive play can make a person feel a number of emotions. As the ball first leaves the bat, you fear that it might fall in for a hit. Then, there’s hope. You see your fielder come out of nowhere. There’s a chance he might make the play. Finally, you experience elation. Your dude came through with a fantastic diving catch.

[Play a Daily Fantasy contest for cash today!]

Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Pedro Alvarez inspired all of those emotions during Thursday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals, just not in the right order.

It started like any other defensive play at first. Fear seeped in immediately, as Jason Heyward’s grounder looked like it might get through the infield. Suddenly, hope took over. Alvarez made a fantastic diving catch to stop the ball. Elation kicked in. He did it. Now, all he has to do is run the ball over to first for the easy out.

Not so fast. Fear found a way to creep its way back into this scenario. As Alvarez began to run to first, the ball simply fell out of his mitt. Finally, disappointment kicked in. Alvarez realized his gaffe as he was running to the bag, and stopped a few feet short. Heyward wound up being safe on the play, stealing any glory Alvarez would have experienced after his excellent stop.

In the end, Alvarez would get the last laugh. He had a tremendous game at the plate, going 3 for 4, with a home run during the contest. The Pirates would go on to win 10-5, so Alvarez’s silly mistake didn’t impact the game.

[On this week’s StewPod: Should adults bring gloves to baseball games?]

Because of that, there’s no need for Pirates fans to feel embarrassed about the play. Considering how well the club has played this year, we’re thinking the most common emotion in Pittsburgh over the past couple months has been joy.

More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports: