NEW YORK ¨C Tuesday¡¯s game between the Marlins and Mets, originally scheduled to start at 7:10 p.m. ET at Citi Field, was moved to 4:10 because of the cold weather forecast later that evening.
By the time the game ended, Miami had that cold feeling after its 10-5 loss, but the team had warm feelings for center fielder Derek Hill, who had his best game as a member of the Marlins. Not only did he slug a two-run homer to get Miami within 6-5 in the top of the sixth inning, Hill made the catch of the year thus far in the bottom of the inning that had 28,861 fans in disbelief.
The gametime temperature was 43 degrees. As the game progressed, the wind was howling and it was tough to play the outfield, according to Hill.
¡°The wind today was definitely wild. Every position in the outfield was doing something. It was really different,¡± Hill said. ¡°There were a couple of balls that died going into the gap. A couple of balls that took off. It was an interesting day out there, for sure.¡±
The ball that Tyrone Taylor hit in the bottom of the sixth inning came after the Mets had scored three runs that inning to take a 9-5 lead. With the bases loaded, two outs and right-hander Ronny Henriquez on the mound, Taylor hit the ball to deep center field.
Hill, who was playing shallow to give himself a chance to throw out a baserunner on a single, covered 110 feet and fully laid out on the warning track, catching the ball exactly in the heel of his glove.
It wasn't totally clear if he'd hung on until Hill, still lying on his stomach, held the ball up in his right hand, which amazed Taylor.
"That was sick, bro. Unreal," Taylor said. "I didn't know off the bat, but after a couple steps, I saw nobody there at all. I was like, 'Oh, yeah!' Then he Supermanned that thing. Pretty incredible."
Said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough, ¡°That was one of the best catches I¡¯ve ever seen live. To go all out there, full extension on the warning track, racing toward the wall, that¡¯s as good a catch as you¡¯ll see.¡±
Hill acknowledged that he was shaken up on the play.
¡°That New York ground is pretty hard. It felt like it was frozen over a little bit, but I wasn¡¯t surprised that I caught it, ¡± Hill said. ¡°It was nice that I held on to it while hitting that ground.¡±
The catch wasn¡¯t the only thing Hill cherished on Tuesday. The home run ball he hit to make it a 6-5 game was sitting in his locker. Hill ended up going 1-for-4 in the game.
Last year was a roller-coaster ride for Hill. He played for three teams ¨C the Rangers, Giants and Marlins ¨C with some success.
Hill, 29, had nothing negative to say about his experience. He has been in the Major Leagues since 2020. He started with the Tigers and also saw time with the Nationals. Hill hopes he has found a home in Miami.
¡°I absolutely love it here in Miami. All the guys were super welcoming last year. Obviously, we have a lot of new faces this year,¡± Hill said. ¡°It feels like family over here. Last year was definitely wild. Me and my wife were pretty much living out of the car and what not. It was a fun experience. It was crazy, but every experience is good I feel.¡±
Based on what McCullough said after Tuesday¡¯s game, it seems Hill will be around Miami for a while.
¡°Derek is a phenomenal teammate and person,¡± McCullough said. ¡°He has put in a lot of hard work.
¡°It hasn¡¯t been an easy road for Derek. This guy is a pro. I think he has really taken to what our hitting guys have preached to him. He has been great all the way through Spring Training. I think we¡¯ve seen on the defensive side his ability to impact the game. Derek shows up ready to go. He is doing great things on both sides.¡±