1 at-bat, 2 great catches, 0 by players
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SAN DIEGO -- The Padres¡¯ David Peralta lined out to D-backs left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to end the first inning on Monday night.
It wasn¡¯t the best catch of the at-bat -- or even second best.
Gurriel was outdone by Jaxen Trinidad and Stephen Schumack -- a pair of fans seated in the terrace level up the third-base line at Petco Park. The two fans made a pair of incredible grabs, one after the other, during Peralta¡¯s first-inning at-bat against his former team. No gloves necessary -- just a barehand for the first and a hat for the second.
On the first pitch of the at-bat, Peralta sprayed a foul ball to the second deck, where Trinidad leapt and went full-extension to make an all-out catch with his bare right hand. A San Diego native who spent the year teaching kindergarten in Hawaii, Trinidad was at his first Padres game of the season -- and keeping score for the first time, too. He managed to make the grab while holding his pen and scorebook in his left hand.
¡°My first game back, so we were really lucky,¡± Trinidad said.
Two pitches later, with the count 0-2, Peralta hit another foul ball one section over, where Schumack stuck his baseball cap over the railing to corral the baseball. Schumack had only just arrived in his seat.
¡°As soon as he hit it, I knew it was coming,¡± Schumack said. ¡°But it was low, so I was like, ¡®Man, I¡¯ve got to throw my hat down there.¡¯¡±
Which catch was better? You be the judge.
Either way Wil Myers was definitely onto something.