Harris sprints to wall, scales it for sensational robbery

May 29th, 2023

ATLANTA -- When a ball is smoked 104.2 mph off the bat, there's generally not a lot of room to react. But defied logic on an incredible robbery at the wall during the Braves' 11-4 win over the Phillies on Sunday night.

"He can naturally go get the ball better than anybody I've played with," said first baseman Matt Olson, who was mic'd up for the inning.

Kyle Schwarber's drive to dead center field soared 409 feet, and Harris had to put his head down and sprint to the wall as soon the ball was hit. Harris traveled 76 feet and then in one motion went into his jump, even needing to contort his body slightly to reach back for the ball.

"I was just trying to get to the wall in time to find it and make a good play," Harris said during an in-game interview on ESPN. "We play them a lot, so I kind of know how their swings work and how the ball flies off their bats."

It wasn’t immediately clear whether Harris made the catch. He shook his head as he took a few steps away from the outfield wall before throwing the ball back toward the infield. 

“That's pretty impressive, but not shocking in the least,” Braves starting pitcher Spencer Strider said. “It was hard to tell if he caught it or if he was mad at himself. So he put me through a bit of emotional roller coaster there for a moment.”