A home run robbery is one of the most amazing feats a player can pull off, so it's no surprise that the very best of them are etched in baseball lore.
One of the most dazzling moments of the 2026 season came when the Orioles' Colton Cowser made a jaw-dropping robbery in center field to steal a walk-off home run against the Rockies.
The catches below have achieved legendary status and are bound to be replayed on defensive highlight reels for years to come.
These are the greatest homer robberies in MLB history.
Colton Cowser, Orioles
Aug. 31, 2026, at Rockies, 9th inning
Bottom of the ninth. Two outs. Runner on second. One-run lead. The stakes were high for the Orioles at Coors Field when Colorado's Jake McCarthy crushed a deep drive to center field that looked destined to leave the yard for a walk-off home run.
But Cowser raced back and to his right, tracking the ball and timing his leap perfectly. He stuck his glove above the outfield wall while hitting the fence hard with his back, coming down with the baseball and crashing down to the turf. He robbed McCarthy of a homer on a Statcast-projected 425-foot drive that would have left the yard nearly anywhere else, preserving the Orioles' 2-1 win -- their fourth straight victory -- with one of the best game-ending catches of all time.
Wade Meckler, Angels
Aug. 28, 2026, vs. Phillies, 9th inning
Not often do fielders go into the stands to rob home runs, but Meckler wouldn't be denied en route to making a CLUTCH grab against the Phillies at Angel Stadium. Activated earlier that day from the concussion injured list, Meckler made a quick impact with an RBI single in the first inning before coming up big with his glove in the ninth.
With two men on and one out, Philadelphia's Bryson Stott ripped a ball deep to right field, and Meckler gave chase into the right-field corner. He leapt and sprawled out on top of the five-foot-high wall, his upper body hanging into the stands, before firing the ball back in. Unfortunately for Meckler, what looked like a game-saving catch went for naught when, two batters later, Edmundo Sosa ripped a grand slam to lead the Phillies to a 5-3 win.
Jo Adell, Angels
April 4, 2026, vs. Mariners, 9th inning
Adell had a game for the ages against the Mariners. In what ended up being a 1-0 Angels win, Adell didn't rob just one home run -- he robbed THREE potential homers. After stealing a homer from Cal Raleigh in the first inning, he did so again in the eighth inning against Josh Naylor to keep it a 1-0 game.
If you thought Adell was done, think again. In the ninth inning, Seattle's J.P. Crawford lifted a long fly ball down the right-field line at Angel Stadium. Adell ran full speed near the right-field foul pole before leaping and making a catch and tumbling over into the stands. After disappearing for a few seconds, Adell rose to show that he did, indeed, snag his third home run ball of the night, sending the sold-out Angel Stadium crowd into a frenzy.
While home run robberies are not an officially tracked stat, it's probably fair to say that Adell did something that no player has ever done in an MLB game.
Denzel Clarke, Athletics
June 10, 2025, at Angels, 1st inning
Clarke quickly became a human highlight reel with some of the most jaw-dropping catches you'll ever see from an outfielder. His best one, however, was his home run robbery of the Angels' Nolan Schanuel in Anaheim in 2025.
Schanuel hit a ball that traveled a Statcast-projected 398 feet towards the left-center field wall. Clarke timed it up perfectly, climbing up the wall and completely extending his body to snag the ball, before returning back to the field to show he pulled off the most improbable of catches. With it came a scream of emotion from Clarke, justifiably so after completing one of the most incredible catches in baseball history.
Michael Harris II, Braves
Aug. 31, 2024, at Phillies, 7th inning
There's never quite been a home run robbery like the one Harris made against the division-rival Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. He practically jogged toward the center-field fence while tracking a Statcast-projected 403-foot drive from Philadelphia's Austin Hays, then made his leap at the perfect moment.
Harris snagged Hays' drive just beyond the low wall in right-center, doing so with his back facing home plate and most of his body essentially inside Philadelphia's bullpen. At one point, he was practically horizontal on the wall before springing back into the field of play. Even Phillies manager Rob Thomson called Harris' athletic grab "one of the best catches you will ever see in this game."
Austin Jackson, Cleveland
Aug. 1, 2017, at Red Sox, 5th inning
Fenway Park is never an easy place to play the outfield -- especially center field, where the deep triangle and the bullpen make for some difficult obstacles. But Jackson navigated it all to make a tremendously entertaining robbery for Cleveland on the road.
Chasing a Hanley Ramirez drive that was projected by Statcast at 389 feet, Jackson jumped for the baseball right at the point where the angled wall of the center-field triangle met the straight fence of the bullpen. The outfielder's momentum carried him right over the wall and into the Boston 'pen, one hand still gripping the top of the wall. Replay confirmed Jackson's amazing catch, although it was somewhat forgotten that night when Christian Vázquez hit a three-run walk-off dinger for the Red Sox
Ender Inciarte, Braves
Sept. 21, 2016, at Mets, 9th inning
Inciarte had to run a long way to save the day in a road tilt against the Mets at Citi Field. The Braves led 4-3 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but All-Star slugger Yoenis Céspedes lifted a deep fly to right-center, sending Inciarte sprinting toward the wall in hopes of bringing the ball back.
The speedy center fielder arrived just in time to jump up and snag Céspedes' Statcast-projected 396-foot drive, reaching his glove just over the wall to take the dinger away and end the game. It was little wonder 2016 was the first of three straight Gold Glove seasons for Inciarte.
Carlos Gómez, Brewers
July 8, 2013, vs. Reds, 9th inning
Gómez was always fun to watch during his 13-year career, which included back-to-back All-Star appearances in 2013 and '14 and the 2013 NL Gold Glove Award in center field. One of his finest defensive plays that season came in a massive spot against the Reds in Milwaukee.
With the Brewers up 4-3, a man on first and two outs in the top of the ninth, Joey Votto ripped a ball to dead center that looked like a two-run go-ahead homer. But Gómez timed his leap perfectly to take the dinger away and came down celebrating a classic catch and a big win for his club.
Mike Trout, Angels
June 27, 2012, at Orioles, 1st inning
Back when he was a rookie and just beginning to wow the baseball world with his other-worldly talents, Trout made perhaps the greatest catch of his storied career.
In the bottom of the first inning against the Orioles at Camden Yards, Trout raced back to the wall in center field on a deep drive by J.J. Hardy. After getting to the warning track, he leaped with his entire upper body and left arm reaching over the right-center-field wall to snatch the baseball out of the air. Trout bounced off the wall with the left side of his body and, upon coming back down, celebrated the home run robbery with a big smile and chest bump with his fist, reminiscent of so many great catches of another legendary center fielder, Ken Griffey Jr.
Dewayne Wise, White Sox
July 23, 2009, vs. Rays, 9th inning
Two seasons after throwing a no-hitter against the Rangers, Mark Buehrle was looking to take it one step further by achieving perfection vs. the Rays. Leading off the ninth inning, Gabe Kapler looked set to end Buehrle’s perfecto bid with a long fly ball to left-center field, until Wise intervened.
The White Sox center fielder ran a long way from his position, scaled the wall and grabbed Kapler’s fly ball before it could land in the stands. Wise nearly lost the ball as he came away from the wall, but he snagged it with his bare hand and held on as he tumbled to the ground. Buehrle retired the next two batters to complete the 18th perfect game in Major League history and ensure Wise’s catch would be forever immortalized.
Gary Matthews Jr., Rangers
July 1, 2006, vs. Astros, 8th inning
Although the stakes in this game weren't as great as some of the others on this list, Matthews’ catch has endured. Why? Because it may have been one of the most impressive feats of athleticism by an outfielder in MLB history.
After a dead sprint on a fly ball hit to center field, Matthews used the wall as a foothold to make an over-the-shoulder catch, then twirled and landed on both feet with his back to the fence to send Mike Lamb back to the dugout empty-handed.
Endy Chavez, Mets
2006 NLCS Game 7 vs. Cardinals, 6th inning
Mets fans likely have mixed emotions about this game. The outcome -- Adam Wainwright freezing Carlos Beltran with a wicked curveball to strand the bases loaded and send the Cards to the World Series -- was heartbreaking. But the catch that came three innings prior is a signature moment in Mets history.
With one on and one out in the top of the sixth inning, St. Louis third baseman Scott Rolen lifted a fly ball to deep left field that threatened to break a 1-1 tie, momentarily quieting the anxious crowd at Shea Stadium. But Chavez perfectly timed his leap and made a full-extension snow-cone grab to pull back Rolen’s blast, rousing the Mets faithful into a state of euphoria. To cap off the unbelievable play, Chavez quickly fired the ball back to the infield, and New York was able to double off Jim Edmonds at first base.