It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of MLB’s opening week and make grand declarations that completely lack perspective. But the diving catch Adam Eaton made in Thursday’s game between the White Sox and Royals has a damn good chance of being viewed as the best catch of the 2015 season.
Yes, the season is only five days old. But are we going to see a better catch over the next seven months than Eaton’s effort, diving toward the warning track, back to home plate and reaching out to snare Mike Moustakas’ line drive to deep center field? If so, this is going to be an absolutely fantastic year of defensive highlights.
Eaton’s catch is obviously impressive as an athletic feat judged simply on its own merits. But the situation of the game also has to be taken into consideration here. The Royals had a 1-0 lead and if Moustakas’ hit had landed, Kansas City would have scored another run as Paulo Orlando was on third base following a leadoff triple. Moustakas also surely would have ended up on second or third base, putting him in scoring position.
The White Sox went on to lose 4-1, due to a three-run sixth inning by the Royals and Chicago only managing four hits for the day. The loss completed a three-game sweep for Kansas City and puts the White Sox in an early hole to dig out from in the AL Central. But Eaton kept his team in Thursday’s ballgame with his defensive gem. Unfortunately, it wasn’t ultimately rewarded with a victory.
[MLB.com]
