Texas Rangers catcher Jonah Heim came to the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning of Game 2 of the World Series on Saturday night and hit what looked like it would be a routine groundout to first base.
He did ground out, but the play was anything but routine for Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker.
Heim hit a 2-2 offering from pitcher Merrill Kelly down the first base line. While Heim hit the ball well, Walker, 2022’s National League Gold Glove Award winner at first base, seemed well positioned. Then, things got weird.
First, Heim’s grounder hit first base, causing the ball to bounce away from where Walker was going. Walker could no longer get a glove on the ball, but that didn’t stop him. He reached back with his bare right hand to snag the ball. He then flipped it to Kelly, who was covering first, for the easy out.
"Gold Glover has a gold hand right there."
Joe Davis on the call for Christian Walker's barehand grab after Jonah Heim's grounder hits first base and bounces away from him. pic.twitter.com/AkLcAGtlxE
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 29, 2023
The incredible defensive play had baseball fans buzzing on Saturday night.
Even when not everything is going right offensively, Christian Walker still brings it at first base. What a play. pic.twitter.com/6h9o8Q1CVi
— Alex Weiner (@alexjweiner) October 29, 2023
Your 2️⃣0️⃣1️⃣7️⃣ Pacific Coast League MVP Christian Walker doesn't need a glove to get it done 👀 pic.twitter.com/tIPYabCJPX
— Reno Aces (@Aces) October 29, 2023
Pitching and defense is the story tonight and Christian Walker get that going with a fine barehanded play off the bag! pic.twitter.com/wvJk0urZI4
— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) October 29, 2023
Lesson to all kids, if you’re not hitting well you can still impact the game with your glove. Or barehand in Christian Walker’s case. Wow! pic.twitter.com/iuh2t8Egf0
— Mark McClune (@MarkMcClune) October 29, 2023
The groundout was the first out of the inning for the Diamondbacks. One hitter earlier, Texas’ Mitch Garver cut Arizona’s 2-0 lead in half with a solo home run. Josh Jung reached later in the inning with a two-out infield single. Certainly if the bad hop had gotten away from Walker, the rest of the inning might have had a much different dynamic.
[Photo Credit: Fox]
