Kevin Kiermaier proves he can fly, robs Manny Machado of a home run
Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier is known for his stellar defense in the outfield. That hasn’t come across lately, as Kiermaier looked silly on a recent home run ball that hit the catwalk.
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He made up for that Monday against the Baltimore Orioles, though. In the bottom of the first inning, Manny Machado hit a ball out to deep center. It certainly had the distance to leave the park, that is, until Kiermaier showed up.
Kiermaier not only tracked the ball perfectly, but was able to jump high enough to make the play. He didn’t even use the wall to boost himself up, making the catch even more impressive. You can tell based on where Kiermaier makes the catch that Machado had a no-doubt home run taken away from him on the play.
Amazingly, it looks like Kiermaier may have predicted his excellent defensive play prior to the contest.
So, on top of flying, we can now assume Kiermaier also has psychic abilities. We’re not sure a baseball player has ever been compared to Jean Grey before, but we’re willing to go there. How else can you explain this series of events?
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik