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Max Scherzer is so good he didn't need to look to make this catch
Washington Nationals ace pitcher Max Scherzer may be magic. No, it’s not just his brilliant start against the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday night. (He allowed just two hits over eight innings with no walks and ten strikeouts, which is magic of a different kind.) In the middle of the game, he appeared to catch a ball without looking. He just decided to catch it and then it happened.
It was the top of the fifth inning, and Scherzer was cruising. Orioles second baseman Jonathan Schoop was at the plate, and he bounced the 1-1 pitch right back to the mound. That’s when Scherzer entered the matrix. He turned around with his back toward home plate, put his glove between his legs, and caught the ball. Then he casually threw the baseball to first for the out.
How did he do that?! How did he catch the ball between his legs without looking? The obvious answer is that he’s just so good that he doesn’t need to see the ball, he knows where it’s going with his mind. But before we start asking Scherzer to use his magic to tell us what the future will hold, take a look at this gif, courtesy of Cut4. You can see how he managed to do it.
His no-look catch is an optical illusion. Scherzer isn’t a wizard, he had the ball tracked right off the bat. He saw the path of the ball, positioned himself to grab it between his legs, and set his head in just the right position to see the ball coming with enough time to scoop it up with his glove. So while Scherzer isn’t magical, he’s extremely smart and talented, not to mention a quick thinker on the mound. He knew he had the ball from the moment it left the bat.
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Of course the inimitable Dusty Baker had the best response to Scherzer’s magical catch. Via Cut4:
After the game, manager Dusty Baker told MLB.com’s Jamal Collier that it was the “First time I’ve seen that. Good thing that ball didn’t hop up on him, know what I mean?”
I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that, either. The only other time I can remember a pitcher being that sure he was going to make a catch was almost seven years ago when Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee pulled off the most casual pop-up grab ever.
When you’re an ace, you’re an ace all the way, from the on-the-mound catch to your last pitch of the day. And that’s what Max Scherzer is.
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Liz Roscher is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at lizroscher@yahoo.com or follow her on twitter! Follow @lizroscher
