According to most of the advanced defensive metrics, Reds’ right fielder Scott Schebler is no defensive wizard.
He’s not exactly at the bottom of the pack either, mind you, but his 2 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) rank 9th out of 20 qualified right fielders, his 0.00 Range Runs (which attempts to measure if a player gets to more balls than average or less) ranks 15th out of 20, his 0.5 Ultimate Zone Rating is in the back half of the pack, and so on.
But last night, he turned some heads and saved some runs when he brought back a home run over the right field fence. Check it out:
That was oddly smooth, wasn’t it?
Usually, home run robberies include some sort of wall-climbing/bashing/smashing or falling, but Schebler goes up with his glove away from him and makes the basket style, over-the-shoulder/over-the-wall catch. Absolutely fantastic.