Randal Grichuk makes Blue Jays' catch of the year (VIDEO)

Jun 26 2018, 11:26 am

The Blue Jays may have Superman in centre field, but they have another player capable of making superhuman leaps in the outfield: Randal Grichuk.

The 26-year-old had one hell of a game in the Blue Jays 6-3 win over the World Series champion Houston Astros. Grichuk put the Jays ahead with a mammoth 471-foot tape measure shot in the eighth inning and then he robbed a potential home run in the ninth.

In fact, this is a catch of the year candidate from Grichuk. The degree of difficulty on this catch doesn’t seem very high, but there were a number of factors that make this one of the best defensive plays of the year.

For one, Grichuk had time his jump perfectly to even have a shot to get his glove on the ball. He races back to the wall, reaches out to make sure he has room, pauses and times his jump perfectly.

Secondly, he had to fight off a few gloves from outstretched fans in the stands (one Astros fan, one Blue Jays fan, oddly enough). Grichuk came very close to not making that play due to another fan trying to haul the ball in for themselves.

Lastly, consider the situation of the game; the Astros had the game-tying run at the plate and if that ball goes over the fence, the Blue Jays’ three-run lead evaporates instantly. Grichuk helped preserve the team’s 6-3 lead and prevented George Springer and the Astros from staging a dramatic late-game comeback.

Pitchers absolutely love it when their defenders come up with huge plays. Marcus Stroman showed his appreciation for Randal’s ridiculous grab at the wall.

This catch might not get much play on the highlight reel shows, but it absolutely should. The best outfielders often make catches like these look easy and that’s exactly what Grichuk did here.

The irony is Grichuk was the game’s starting centre fielder and moved over to right field in the ninth inning. If any Blue Jays player were capable of making that catch, it was him. He was in the right position at the precise time.

If that isn’t baseball fate, I don’t know what is.

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