Saturday night, USA advanced to the semifinals of the World Baseball Classic with a thrilling come-from-behind win over the Dominican Republic at Petco Park. USA advances while the Dominican Republic, the defending WBC champs, heads home.
Late in the game Adam Jones robbed Orioles teammate Manny Machado of a home run with a truly stunning catch in center field. Here is the very necessary video:
Tremendous catch that has resulted in some tremendous photos.
Needless to say, the Jones catch was a hot topic in the Orioles spring training clubhouse Sunday morning. Eduardo A. Encinas of the Baltimore Sun asked manager Buck Showalter about the catch, and Showalter said his favorite part was Jones taking the ball away from a guy in a Yankees hat.
“Oh my goodness,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said of the catch. “Unfortunately, I saw it live. That was a great moment. I loved the way Manny handled it. If you didn’t know they were teammates before the game, you know it now. … The thing I loved about it the most is that there was a Yankee fan trying to get into the field of play that he took it away from. That was probably the highlight for me.”
Here’s a photo of the Yankees fan in question:
Showalter started his coaching career in the minors with the Yankees in the 1980s, and he managed the big-league club from 1992-95 before resigning. George Steinbrenner offered Showalter a contract extension on the condition he replaced his pitching coach, which Showalter refused.
Ever since then, Showalter has been taking subtle and mostly innocuous shots at the Yankees while speaking with reporters. It seems he resents how things played out and makes sure to needle the Yankees whenever possible. The Jones catch gave him another chance to do exactly that Sunday.