This Jeremy Jeffress catch was amazing and also terrifying
For reasons that escape me now, back when I was of age I opted not to participate in Little League. I wish I had played, as maybe I'd have become a big famous baseball star I'd have dreamed of being. Without first-person experience, though, I can still appreciate some of the stark realities of the game.
The Brewers beat the Twins on Monday, 5-4, but the game featured the type of play that makes you sit back and realize just how intense baseball can be -- and how it's truly a game of inches.
In the fifth inning, Milwaukee reliever
I couldn't help but gasp audibly when I saw this play. Line-drive comebackers smashed back through the box are always frightening, even if the pitcher doesn't end up getting injured.
Jeffress was still removed from the game after this sequence, but the Brewers announced that it had nothing to do with any injury concerns. That's a relief for obvious reasons, but it doesn't change the fact that it seems absolutely terrifying to be a pitcher. Just listen to him talk about the moment postgame.
“I thought I was gone,” said Jeremy Jeffress when describing the Willians Astudillo line drive that nearly took his head off. He saw the video but won’t watch it again. Most important? He’s still healthy: pic.twitter.com/ikQHjVpZ96
— Todd Rosiak (@Todd_Rosiak) May 28, 2019
You see these sorts of plays have different effects in some cases, but for the most part pitchers involved get back up on the hill and pitch again in the future.
That part -- being able to put such a terrifying moment behind you and getting back up on the mound again -- is what always blows my mind, and what makes being a baseball player such an impressive feat. It's as if athletes just have another gear, another mode of existence that allows them to push past the sort of moment that would make other, weaker humans (like me) just quit immediately and go home.
But they don't quit. They keep playing, and that's why it's impossibly impressive to me.
Adrian Garro joined MLB.com in 2016. Throughout his travels, both Bartolo Colon and Vin Scully have placed their hands on his shoulders. Not at the same time, though. That'd be amazing.
