Against any other team, Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt likely would have a home run to celebrate. Facing the Cincinnati Reds, he had no such luck with Billy Hamilton in center field.
In the first inning of Saturday’s game against the Reds, Goldschmidt drilled a ball to deep left-center field. Just as it seemed the ball was about to leave the yard, Hamilton made a leaping grab at the wall to steal it.
https://twitter.com/statcast/status/1028424626957942784
According to StatCast, the 27-year-old center fielder covered a whopping 123 feet in order to make the leaping grab. Just being able to cover that ground is one thing, Hamilton’s ability to then time his leap and rob the home run makes the play spectacular.
Next time, Goldschmidt may have to hit it to one of the foul poles. That may be the only space safe from Hamilton’s range.