PITTSBURGH -- You never know when you’ll have to break out a Harlem Globetrotters-esque trick play on a baseball diamond. For Pirates first baseman Ryan O'Hearn, his time to shine came in the top of the fifth inning, with his back to the intended target.
In Saturday night's 6-5 comeback win over the Royals at PNC Park, O’Hearn flipped the ball between his legs to pitcher Brandon Eisert to record the out at first base. A run scored on the sacrifice bunt from Michael Massey, but O’Hearn’s action looked more like that of a between-the-legs slam dunk than your typical first baseman’s antics.
O’Hearn wasn’t too surprised at the outcome. He practices the play every day alongside second baseman Brandon Lowe and assistant coach Ryan Jackson.
“You never know when you might need it in the game,” O’Hearn told MLB.com. “That was like a do-or-die type play on the bunt there. I don't think there was any other possible way that I could have gotten the out other than just a quick glove-flip between the legs. So yeah, it's pretty sick.”
With his body turned away from the base, O’Hearn kept his head perfectly positioned at Eisert charging from the mound to first base. It’s not fair to call the play a no-look pass, but a between-the-legs dish is just as nice.
O’Hearn said he debated going behind-the-back, though the between-the-legs move was more efficient. O’Hearn, who played in his 437th MLB game at first on Saturday, had used the glove-flip before in-game, but never like this. Lowe had a front-row seat, and a smile to pair.
“Watching it happen, it was all in slow motion for me,” Lowe said. “I feel like I saw every millisecond of the play develop in front of me, and then Eisert caught it. It all kind of sped back up again, and I couldn't believe he actually broke it out in a game.
“We mess around in practice and stuff like that. Just having fun, keeping it loose. It's a long season. There's a lot of ground balls you take pregame, so you just have some fun on a few of them. And I think O’Hearn does that exact play every single day for the last seven months. So it was pretty cool to see him actually break it out.”
Eisert, too, had to make a spectacular effort to complete the play. He sprinted toward the bag as Massey made contact toward the right side, and was “a little surprised how the ball got to me.” The lefty reached back and corralled the ball before extending his right foot for the out.
“It was unconventional, but just kind of looking at him to see where it might be coming from, so I was a little shocked where it came from,” Eisert said.
O’Hearn usually isn’t one for tricks. Though he pulled this one out of his bag in a crucial spot.
“I don't think he understood even what happened when it all went through,” Lowe joked.