Behind-the-back tosses are almost always one of the most unexpectedly exciting plays in any sport (especially soccer!). That’s probably because, nine times out of ten (source: stats.com.org.gov), behind-the-back throws usually come after a player has made some sort of mistake, or the play is seemingly impossible to complete otherwise.
A few years back, for one example, Mark Buehrle completed one of the most famous no-look flips at first base against the Indians. Check it out:
There have been plenty of behind-the-back tosses since then, but none have dethroned Buehrle’s throw, in my humble opinion, for the best of all time.
That is until Chase Utley did this last night:
After biffing the (originally) routine grounder, the ball gets passed a stumbling Utley. But with plenty of time left, he bare hands it, and makes a perfect (and seriously long) flip to Adrian Gonzalez at first base for the out.
For me, the sheer distance between Utley and Gonzalez is what makes this play far more impressive, exciting, and unexpected than Buehrle’s, but what do you think? Who’s was better?
[Brett: For me, it’s still Buehrle’s play because of the ground he had to cover to get the ball, then go between the legs with the glove. But the Utley play is truly nuts.]