Fenway Park has one of the more complicated outfields to play. On Sunday night, Boston Red Sox centerfielder Jarren Duran navigated one of the toughest parts of that outfield to make one of the best catches in recent memory.
New York’s Anthony Rizzo came up with two outs and a man on first in the top of the third inning. He sent a ball deep into Fenway Park’s famed left-center field triangle, where the Green Monster meets the field-level seats and the bullpens. While it wasn’t hit at the right angle to be a home run, it seemed inevitable that the ball would fall in front of the 420-foot marker for an extra-base hit and — unless it bounced over the wall for a ground rule double, a run.
Durran, though, had other ideas.
He tracked the ball down and made a slick over-the-shoulder basket catch.
WHAT A PLAY BY JARREN DURAN! 🤯🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/gU3kTu0pZb
— Red Sox (@RedSox) June 18, 2023
Baseball fans were understandably quite impressed by the range and concentration Duran showed off to make this grab.
Basket catch at an incredibly tough angle by Duran.
— Ian Browne (@IanMBrowne) June 18, 2023
GO AND GET IT JARREN DURAN!
STEALS EXTRA BASES FROM ANTHONY RIZZO!
https://t.co/yRgIdrr9x2— Tyler Milliken ⚾️ (@tylermilliken_) June 18, 2023
Not sure I've ever seen a basket catch in the triangle like that. Terrific grab by Duran.
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) June 18, 2023
JARREN DURAN HOW DO YOU DO!!!!
Play of the year for the Red Sox!!!!!!
https://t.co/rslVt9zE76— Boston Sports Gordo (@BOSSportsGordo) June 18, 2023
The concentration on this catch… Duran is just a different defensive center fielder this season.
https://t.co/epDpg3FtQr— Boston Sports Gordo (@BOSSportsGordo) June 19, 2023
This may be one of the most difficult catches i’ve ever seen.
Jarren Duran in the bermuda triangle of Fenway Park, one of the toughest outfield spots in the Majors 🤯 pic.twitter.com/TDzZAsZr59
— Jordan Moore (@iJordanMoore) June 18, 2023
Not many catches have a higher degree of difficulty than this one.
Durran struggled both at the plate and in the field during his stints with the Red Sox over the 2021 and 2022 seasons. But heading into Sunday’s doubleheader with the Yankees, he’s hitting .291/.347/.448. So, he’s made major strides with both the bat and glove.
[Boston Red Sox, Photo Credit: ESPN]
