Mike Trout pays tribute to Ken Griffey Jr. with tremendous catch
Someone must have told Los Angeles Angels outfielder it was Ken Griffey Jr. weekend in Seattle. Upon hearing the news, the centerfielder decided to pay homage to Griffey with a tremendous grand slam stealing grab at the wall.
Trout’s leaping catch came in the bottom of the fourth inning during Sunday’s game against the Seattle Mariners. With the bases loaded and no one out, Leonys Martin stepped to the plate looking to break things open for the Mariners. He clobbered an 85 mph changeup from Matt Shoemaker, sending it deep to center field.
Trout raced back, and tracked the ball to the wall. He took a moment to gather himself, timed his jump just right and managed to catch the ball in his glove before it sailed over the wall. Trout crashed to the ground following the catch, but had the presence to get it back to the infield quickly. What should have been a grand slam was limited to just a sacrifice fly.
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This is, of course, nothing new for Trout. Since his debut back in 2011, he’s been dazzling fans with his tremendous defensive catches. He’s already become a master when it comes to stealing home runs.
The fact that this play came at Safeco Field during Ken Griffey Jr. weekend only makes it more special. The Mariners decided this series against the Angels to Griffey. The club gave away Hall of Fame bobbleheads Friday, retired Griffey’s number Saturday and gave out replica jerseys Sunday.
While the fans, and Griffey, may have preferred an off the field tribute, they wound up getting the last laugh. The Mariners pulled off the victory, winning the contest 3-1. With the win, the team completed a sweep over the Angels.
A part of that was making sure Trout’s Griffey imitation was limited to his defense. At the plate, Trout went 0-for-4 on Sunday with an un-Griffey like four strikeouts.
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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
