MLB players make routine plays look easy on a nightly basis and give fans a false sense of how difficult it is to complete even the most basic tasks on a baseball field, such as scooping up a grounder, or in this particular case, catching a fly ball.
Atlanta Braves center fielder Jarred Kelenic looked like an average person for a brief moment in Saturday’s 8-4 loss to the New York Yankees and made a play that he’ll hope to forget.
In the bottom of the fourth inning down 3-1, Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton lifted a fly ball deep to center field, and Kelenic quickly misread the ball, spun around, and ran directly into the wall while completely missing the ball, resulting in Stanton getting credited with a double.
Jarred Kelenic with one of the wildest routes to a ball you will ever see pic.twitter.com/U076TGWozi
The wind was obviously a factor in this one, and sometimes there’s nothing an outfielder can do in these situations when a high fly ball starts twisting and turning up there.
It was an unfortunate moment on one of the game’s biggest stages in front of 45,056 fans at Yankee Stadium, and Stanton would wind up scoring two batters later on a Gleyber Torres double.
Left fielder Adam Duvall had a similar gaffe in the previous game that resulted in a Jose Trevino triple, as he also completely misjudged a routine fly ball.
The Braves outfielders are not having a fun time on this trip to New York, though things are currently going well for Kelenic at the dish, as he was able to extend his hitting streak to nine games in this one.