The Pittsburgh Pirates can thank Ji-hwan Bae for sending their game against the Seattle Mariners to extras on Sunday. Bae didn’t just extend the game either, he did so in grand style with an incredible catch that might be the best of the season.
J.P. Crawford dueled with David Bednar of the Buccos with the game tied at 3 runs apiece. Crawford then took a 1-1 offering and sent it to deep centerfield. Bae tracked the ball and ran with it, and with two outs, had to make the catch or risk the M’s getting a runner into scoring position. So Bae made an incredible catch at the wall, slammed into it, and still hung on!
The catch stunned the Pirates’ announcers, who wondered how he even pulled that off! The grab sent the game into extra innings and gave Pittsburgh another chance to take the lead in the 10th inning.
Needless to say, the catch went viral quickly and caught the attention of dozens of baseball fans and the MLB world.
“WOW! Catch of the year by Ji-hwan Bae in center,” said Dejan Kovacevic.
The Breaking Bats pod also called it the “catch of the year.”
The Pirates themselves were flabbergasted and reacted preposterously.
Talkin’ Baseball was also taken aback by the incredible play.
About Chris Novak
Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022