Daulton Varsho appeared to pull off the impossible on Tuesday, April 29 when the Toronto Blue Jays outfielder caught a fly ball immediately after falling right in front of the center field wall.
In a move described by ESPN as a possible “catch of the year,” Varsho tripped while running to catch a ball hit by visiting Red Sox left fielder Jarren Duran — but he didn’t let a little stumble stop him. While facing the wall after swiftly getting back up, Varsho managed to raise his left hand and catch the ball at the top of the fourth inning.
Varsho seemed to surprise himself with the impressive catch, smiling as he threw it back while Blue Jays pitcher Dillon Tate took off his hat and pointed it to Varsho in recognition of his accomplishment.
ESPN MLB/YouTube
Varsho even made the circus-like catch in what was his season debut. Per ESPN, the outfielder had been sidelined with a shoulder injury that kept him from the first 28 games of the campaign, and finally took the field for the first time on Tuesday evening.
After the game, which ended in a 10-2 losing score for the Blue Jays despite Varsho’s efforts, the athlete told MLB.com how he pulled off the catch.
“I just stuck my glove out and somehow it went in,” he said. “It was probably a really high percent probability of a catch and I made it look really hard.”
He also told MLB.com what went through his mind right before he made the catch, admitting he “said a profanity word,” but then quickly thought to himself, “OK, where’s the ball?”
ESPN MLB/YouTube
Blue Jays Manager John Schneider told MLB.com that he was thinking of Varsho’s shoulder injury when he witnessed the catch.
“I thought it was going off the batter’s eye, then when you see Varsho fall, you immediately say, ‘Don’t fall on your shoulder,’” he said. “Then, you watch him catch it and you go, ‘Man, you’re really good.’ That’s not exactly what I said in the dugout. I know this is live right now and I’m trying to be nice. But that was really cool. You just shake your head.”
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Even the rival team had to applaud Varsho’s efforts. Red Sox third basemen Rafael Devers and Alex Bregman praised his catch while speaking with MLB.com, with Devers calling the move “amazing” and Bregman describing it as “unbelievable.”
“That was one of the best catches I’ve ever seen in my life,” Bregman added.
