During Saturday’s game in Reading, R-Phils outfielder Jiwan James scaled the wall to rob Bowie Baysox slugger Jonathan Schoop of a home run. The crazy thing about it is that he doesn’t catch it with his glove … he loses his glove completely and comes down with the ball in his bare hand. It’s one of the best (and most serendipitous) catches you’ll ever see, topping SportsCenter’s top plays and turning a double-A minor leaguer into an online sensation.
The only problem is that with the modifier “online” comes skeptics, and YouTube refuses to believe he caught the ball.
Theory 1: He trapped it.
ball definitely hits the wall…if you constantly hit pause and play at Around the 7 second mark of the video, you can see the ball go past his glove, and hit the wall at around the 8 second mark…hard to see, but its there (user chosen1soulja)
Looks like it falls into his chest and he either traps it against the wall and grabs it on the way down or he catches it off of his chest on the way down for the grab. (user pjfan14)
Theory 2: The ball he caught was a fake.
Where the f**k did his glove go? Looks like the ball ripped it off his hand and he pulled an extra ball from his pocket. (user arenpeterso)
Or stuck, in his elbow/armpit. Something along those lines (user TheBryceBrown)
The alternative is he pulled that shit out of his shirt. See the stretch in the fabric as he’s coming down? The ball went behind the fence and he pull the ‘backup’ ball from his shirt before he hit the ground. (user jmccrackenbriley)
Theory 3: A WIZARD DID IT/He was using cheat codes.
SORCERY (user MECWIHS)
hax. The ball went behind the wall, you can see it clearly. He even loses his glove over the side of the wall! and pulls magic ball out of his right hand!!! (user fuunguus)
Theory 4: He made the catch, shut up.
F**k off he made the catch (user ThePensBurgh)
They all seem like valid explanations, especially the one about him carrying around a second ball in his armpit at all times. We want to know what you think — did Jiwan catch the ball, did he trap it, is he a street magician or are there a bunch of angels in the park flapping their arms and giving him special Heaven powers?
[via Philly.com Sports]
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Seriously, where the fuck did his glove go? It was there one frame and gone the next.
:31 ball never hits left hand glove drops into right hand. left hand hits wall and glove falls off. ball either drops into his right hand or fumbles from shoulder to wall trap into hand within .004 seconds.
What he did was as the ball was coming down he trapped it against his chest. It may or may not have bounced off the wall. But if you have ever actually played outfield you would know that a catch is a catch whether you catch if by trapping it against or chest or catching it with a glove. HE CAUGHT THE BALL!
I will gladly take this man instead of Shane Victorino in center. Whose hand do I have to shake heartily to make this happen?
well he “caught” the ball but didtn actually catch it. you can see it hits the wall and falls between his body and the wall. looks like he picks it up off the ground though.
Back and to the left…….back and to the left….
Definitely Angels in the Outfield
Frame 313 takes James to the fence. This is the key shot. His glove going back and to his left. Shot from the front and right. Totally inconstant with the shot from the Book Depository. So what happens then? Pandemonium.
wooo Reading (my hometown) getting some love on uproxx