Unlike pretty every other sport, baseball offers a unique opportunity for fans to potentially show off their talents by (sort of) replicating what the professionals on the field do every game. Sometimes that imitation can even become a contender for a top play in the game itself, meaning that some random fan turned their ticket into an appearance on sports highlight shows.
This kind of thing happened on Saturday during Game 6 of the National League Championship Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Atlanta Braves. Austin Riley smoked a fastball from Walker Buehler in a way that made everyone briefly pause to wait and see which side of the foul pole the ball would sail past. Unfortunately for Riley, it curved foul toward the upper deck. But one man's misfortune became another's good fortune as a fan in a Cowboys hoodie was able to go up with one hand and catch the ball bare-handed.
You thought Mookie had a great catch?! Check out this fans one-handed grab 🤯 pic.twitter.com/oMClCTXMj6
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 17, 2020
Not only was the fact that he nabbed it bare-handed impressive, he was also able to beat out his buddy sitting near him who was actually wearing a glove -- presumably with the intention of doing the thing his pal got to do right in front of him.
This achievement also enters the race for play of the game. The competition for that title is between what the fan did, and Mookie Betts's jumping catch at the warning track to end the fifth inning. When you consider that one person trains hard, and is paid handsomely, for making those kinds of catches, and the other -- judging by the location of his seat -- might not be, the fan might get the edge in that race.
