There is just one week left in the season which means that this is the last edition of Top of the Heap: Plays of the Week before Top of the Heap: Plays of the Year! It has been a wild 150+ game ride thus far in the Majors and we’ve seen some really awesome things in 2015. The Cubs and the Blue Jays are poised to make their return to baseball’s second season after lengthy droughts. The Mets avoided an anticipated September swoon to punch their postseason ticket as well. Six players have hit forty home runs in 2015 (with at least four more in striking distance) after just one (Nelson Cruz) did so a year ago. Mixed in with the power and glory has been an amazing Cy Young race in the NL between Zack Greinke, Jake Arrieta, Clayton Kershaw, and Jacob deGrom, scintillating MVP debates in both leagues, and a crop of Gold Glove candidates on both circuits that make the pick of a winner too close to call. So let’s bid one final adieu and without further ado, here are the top five plays that defined the week that was in baseball.
5. Altherr’s Inside-The-Park Grand Slam
The Washington Nationals were heavy favorites to not only win the National League Eastern Division this year, but also the National League and potentially the World Series. Instead, they have crumbled under the pressure of a pennant chase and find themselves on the outside looking in at the playoffs. Tensions have boiled over, and they have given up an uncharacteristically high number of big plays. One of the biggest came against the cellar dwelling Phillies last Friday. In the top of the third inning, rookie outfielder Aaron Altherr stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and a one run deficit. Jordan Zimmermann served up a healthy pitch right down broadway and Altherr laced it to center field. Michael Taylor foolishly dove for the ball, missing wildly as the ball rolled towards deeper center. By the time it reached the edge of the warning track, the bases had cleared. The hare-footed Altherr was rounding third before left fielder Jayson Werth tried to start a relay. He scored without a throw for the first inside-the-park grand slam since Randy Winn did so for the (Devil) Rays. Altherr would add to Washington’s misery with a more conventional solo shot two innings later and the Phillies would dampen Washington’s dreams 8-2.
4. Dee Gordon Goes Over The Shoulder In Extras
Miami lost a lot of momentum this season with a cornucopia of injuries, most notably to Giancarlo Stanton. One good thing came out of this lost campaign though; the emergence of Dee Gordon. Gordon was good in his first full season with the Dodgers last year, but he was even better in his first year down in South Beach. Gordon is second to Bryce Harper in the NL in batting average at .332 and is just one stolen base behind Billy Hamilton for the Major League lead. His glove has also improved tremendously after a shaky shift to second base a season ago. Flash Jr. showed off both his speed and his glove in the 11th inning of Wednesday night’s game versus the Phillies. With two outs, Darin Ruf popped up a ball to shallow right field. Marcell Ozuna and Christian Yelich were too deep to get there so Gordon had to race back. It looked effortless as he got under the ball, only to have it dip on him at the final moments forcing him into an awkward over the shoulder catch. Gordon would win the game for Miami with a double in the bottom of the inning. Speed kills, but some fancy leather is quite the accomplice.
3. Lindor Dives And Delivers
Danny Salazar was in a bit of a pickle during the bottom of the third inning of Tuesday’s game against the playoff hopeful Twins. The Twins had already pushed three across and had two more ducks on the pond as Trevor Plouffe entered the batter’s box. He looked to break the game even more wide open as he made strong contact on a Salazar heater towards the left side of the infield. However, Francisco Lindor was able to lay out and make a sno-cone snag deep in the hole. Instead of being complacent with saving a run, Lindor ended the inning with a snap two hopper to first that was dug out by Carlos Santana to retire Plouffe by the slightest of margins. Lindor saved his pitcher from a potentially disastrous inning and the Twins would not score again. Sadly though for Indians fans, the Tribe would only score one run of their own and would lose the game 3-1.
2. Trout Leaps Upstream To Rob Home Run
Most weeks this play would have easily been at the top of the heap. Hell, this play may still make it to next week’s plays of the year. But alas, AL MVP Mike Trout and his latest display of awe-inspiring athleticism will just have to settle for second fiddle. The Angels seemed dead in the water come September as they had fallen way behind both Texas and Houston in the AL West/Wild Card race. A 16-8 September has breathed new life into the team and nobody has been a bigger resuscitator than the reigning MVP. During the fourth inning of Saturday’s game against the Mariners, starter Andrew Heaney gave up a towering fly ball to Jesus Montero into the No Fly Zone known as Mike Trout’s center field. Although by his own admission he thought he had no chance initially, Trout tracked back to the wall and prepared to make a leap at the base of the center field fence. He planted his foot in the padding, reached up and over the 396 foot marker and brought Montero’s hit back into play. Not only that, Trout kept the runners at first and second with the now one out. Heaney did the rest and got the Halos out of the inning unscathed. A David Freese walk-off home run gave them a 3-2 victory, but the real game winner came five innings earlier from their wall walking superman.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5usR2FTRAc
1. Mookie Betts Upends Himself To End The Game
I told you it would take a special play to beat out Trout’s catch for Top of the Heap. Mookie Betts did just that to end Friday night’s game against the Orioles. Rich Hill was just one out away from his first complete game shutout since 2006 when Chris Davis got a hold of a breaking ball that just stayed too far up. The ball traveled a long way to right field towards the Red Sox dugout. From what happened next, you’d be hard pressed to believe that the man involved was an infielder in the minor leagues. Mookie Betts went to the short dugout wall and nearly fell over it making a spectacular catch to rob Davis of a home run and complete Hill’s shutout. The catch was remarkable, but Hill’s feat was too seeing how he’d been relegated to situational lefty duty out of the pen since arm troubles cropped up on him in the late 2000’s. It was also the fifth time this season that Davis has been robbed of a home run. Three of those times made it to here on Top of the Heap (Billy Burns 6/16, Avisail Garcia 7/4, JD Martinez 7/17). You are in good company Mookie at the Top of the Heap this week. We’ll see where your catch ranks among the year’s best next week!
