Few plays in sports are as shocking and momentum-turning as an amazing outfield throw to retire a runner.
Just when the runner thinks he’s home free — boom — out of nowhere comes a throw that erases him from the basepaths and leaves him walking back to the dugout shaking his head: How did that happen?
On Tuesday night, Oakland A’s left fielder Yoenis Cespedes recorded his eighth assist of the season, the highest total in the major leagues.
This one was absolutely astonishing. After bobbling his initial attempt to corral a base hit off the bat of Mike Trout, Cespedes recovered with a 300-foot laser to nail Howie Kendrick at the plate.
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“He threw a guided missile that was right on the money,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.
With Cespedes’ howitzer in mind, here’s a look at some other outfield throws that will leave you in awe.
1. Jose Guillen, July 27, 1998
Guillen reached third base on the fly from the right-field warning track. Enough said.
2. Vladimir Guerrero, July 7, 2001
Guerrero didn’t even have forward momentum when he tracked this ball down.
3. Bo Jackson, Aug. 31, 1993
Even though it didn’t quite make it to third baseman Robin Ventura on the fly, it’s still noteworthy that Jackson, with no forward momentum and hardly any follow-through, was able to unleash this throw to nail Mike Gallego.
4. Yasiel Puig, June 8, 2013
This throw to retire the Braves’ Andrelton Simmons came just as the world was becoming introduced to the magnetic personality that is Puig. And to think, this throw was almost cut off.
5. Joe Ferguson, Oct. 12, 1974
This was supposed to be the center fielder’s ball, but Ferguson cut in front of Jimmy Wynn — who had a sore arm — and let fly this beauty to nail Sal Bando at the plate. Despite Ferguson’s BB, the Dodgers would lose Game 1 of the World Series to the Athletics and go on to lose the series.
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