Coming into the 2017 season, we anticipated that Jon Jay and Albert Almora Jr. would split time in center field, with Jay supplying the more polished and ready bat, and Almora supplying the more impact glove.
Well, we know what Jay did with the bat in 2017, contributing enough that he’s going to draw plenty of interest in free agency. And Almora showed off the glove immediately, making an impact in the first series of the year, down in St. Louis. With the Cubs up 2-1 in the 7th inning of Game Two, having lost the season opener, Matt Adams drove a would-be game-tying shot to deep center.
But there was Almora, robbing Adams with a perfect leaping grab, and preserving the Cubs’ 2-1 lead, which would stand up for the rest of the game:
The catch wound up yielding one of my favorite pictures of the season:
Take a picture, it lasts longer. pic.twitter.com/qvCY4QW0Fw
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 5, 2017
Even Cardinals fans had to show their respect with what was clearly a dab, and not a face-covering bow of frustration and shame:
Also good. pic.twitter.com/nCd6qfMrxQ
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 5, 2017
Being that Almora is so gifted in center field, it didn’t take long for him to flash the leather again – and then again, twice in the same game, just nine days later.
And both times, he was robbing Corey Seager – sorry, dude:
Seager must have stolen Almora’s milk money in another life.
That second catch may not look as impressive as the first one or the St. Louis one, but tracking that ball on a windy, cold day at Wrigley Field, totally back-turned-to-the-field-style, is so difficult. Almora is so good at going back on the ball.
Funny thing about that second catch? It happened only after a circus catch by Kyle Schwarber earlier in the inning was overturned on replay. If Schwarber is credited with this catch, maybe Almora’s grab never happens: