Matt Wieters hits home run thanks to unintentional assist from Ben Revere
If this season feels like it’s been one continuous highlight reel for outfielders, that’s because it truly has been one continuous highlight reel for outfielders.
From Kevin Pillar’s early string of sensational leaps and dives, to the recent stretch of wild home run robberies, outfielders have been relentlessly dominating the defensive play of the year category.
At least until Friday, when things went a little haywire in Toronto.
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The unfortunate turns of event was highlighted, or in this case lowlighted, by Blue Jays left fielder Ben Revere. During Friday’s 10-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles, Revere attempted to flag down Matt Wieters’ long drive at Rogers Centre, and actually managed to propel it over the fence for the rare defense-aided home run.
The odd play happened in the fifth inning. Chris Davis had just gone deep for the second time in the game — and the 40th time this season — to give Baltimore the lead. Wieters immediately followed by drilling a ball to deep left, driving Revere back to the warning track. Revere seemed to have it measured up well, but knew he’d have to leap at the wall to take away potential extra bases.
Unfortunately, Revere needed a couple more inches on his jump.
Though he seemed to have it timed well, Revere couldn’t extend far enough to make the grab. At the peak of his jump, his stab at the ball only served to boost it those final few feet over the wall.
Generally the term outfield assist is a good thing. It typically means an outfielder made a good throw directly leading to an out on the bases. In this case, it was the worst possible outcome. What would have been at worst a double, turned into a home run for Wieters and a quick run for Baltimore.
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We find no fault in Revere’s effort though. That’s a very tough play. For those who may be wondering about an error, you’ll never one given to an outfielder after that type of effort. But that’s one of those moments that will be ingrained into the mind of a player and a fanbase for a long time.
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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
