Where Does Jackie Bradley Jr.'s Tumbling Catch Vs. Twins Rank Among His Best Defensive Plays?
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Jackie Bradley Jr. brought Fenway Park to its feet on Sunday afternoon when he covered 78 feet of ground en route to making a lunging catch before tumbling to the warning track dirt and slamming into the Green Monster.
After the game -- which the Red Sox won 3-0 -- Bradley was asked where that catch ranks among his best plays. The 28-year-old said that he'd have to watch a reel of all of his catches before making any such proclamation.
With that, it's worth taking a look at some of Bradley's greatest hits from the six seasons he's spent roaming the outfield for the Boston Red Sox.
Lunge & Tumble
What stands out most from this play is that Bradley was shading Bobby Wilson toward right-center field. Bradley was able to make up that extra ground and make a high-risk catch while flying toward the unforgiving left-field wall.
Any way you slice it, that's a Grade A catch.
Wall Smash
Bradley was likewise unafraid of the wall earlier this year, when he leaped to make a catch to rob Justin Upton of extra bases.
Willie Mays Lite
This is just too casual.
Willie Mays Lite, Part 2
Nit-pickers will note that Bradley may have overrun this ball a bit, but it's not always easy to perfectly track a ball that's hit 420 feet while you're sprinting with your back turned to the infield.
The Ridiculous Snare
You can watch this one 10 times and still not fully comprehend how he was able to get his glove on this baseball.
Superman
On some diving catches, the dives are not necessary. This is not one of those diving catches.
Robbing Aaron Judge
Probably Bradley's most famous catch, he made this one look very easy.
The only "demerit" -- such as it were -- on this one would be that Bradley was playing deep to begin with, so he didn't have too much ground to cover and was able to give himself time and space to make the play. Still, having that kind of feel for a very tricky triangle is not easy.
Another Over-The-Head Grab
Starting to think that Bradley should have maybe pursued football. Feels as though he'd be able to haul in some deep touchdown passes with skills like these.
Walk-Off Robbery
Every player salivates at the prospect to rob a home run. Multiply that by 10 when it's the robbery of a would-be walk-off homer.
Shallow Dive
Bradley has made a ton of plays like this. But this was one of the better ones.
Picking It Off The Ground
This one was a hit, right up until about 0.01 seconds before Bradley somehow got his glove under the ball.
Some More Wall Smashing
We're running out of ways to say "that was a nice catch." But that was a nice catch.
This Throw
Not just a wizard with the glove, Bradley boasts one of the strongest outfield arms in baseball. No play displays that more than this one. He initially misread the fly ball, but recovered with plenty of time to make the catch, before unleashing a ridiculous throw from left-center to first base.
103.4
Seems fast.
Which play was Bradley's best?
