Trea Turner and the most beautiful play I've ever seen
A turnaround stab to cap a turnaround season. But first...Omar Vizquel
I grew up with an Omar Vizquel poster in my bedroom. The image of him leaping off of second base as he torqued his hips open and then shut to fire the ball to first was, to me, the pinnacle of athletic grace.
I practiced it endlessly in the backyard. I'd pick backhands or charge in on grounders. Rather than setting and firing the ball off my back foot, I'd let my momentum carry me into a jumping throw that was never as accurate or as quick. But man it felt cool.
I'd miss routine dribblers during Little League games, too distracted by dreams of waving off the second baseman and springing from the spongy top of the base to notice the ball bouncing between my legs and into left field.
But times change.
My days of even dreaming of athletic grace are rapidly fading, and on Wednesday, up eight runs against the Braves, Trea Turner threw out Ronald Acuna Jr. in a play that usurped Vizquel's leap throw on the high throne of fielding beauty.
So many aspects of the play catch the eye.
The speed of Turner's pivot around his planted left toe. The momentarily weightless float of his jersey as he initiates his slide. The utter nonchalance on Turner's face.The seamless transfer of the ball from his glove to his throwing hand and ultimately to Bryce Harper’s on first base - the whole thing powered by Turner's first explosive steps towards the baseball.
Turner’s play oozes with the kind of fluidity of which people dream.
Perhaps Turner himself–like I did as a youngster–had been daydreaming of the play for several games. He did have three errors in the series against Atlanta.
But those errors are easy to forget when Turner has a hot bat1 and outs like this one (and this one) in his bag. The Phillies are in the NLCS, and this play is simply at-this-point-unnecessary evidence that Turner has turned his season around.
Turner was 12-24 at the plate in the NLDS
lets gooooo