How appropriate is it that Albert Almora is today celebrating his 25th birthday in his native Miami? And how appropriate is it that he celebrated by making an absolutely incredible catch last night in Miami?
OK, I actually wouldn’t call that one surprisingly appropriate or whatever, because it’s just something he does all the time. All. The. Time:
https://twitter.com/NBCSCubs/status/1118119119981662208
Speaking of the catch last night, we already looked at it, but I wanted to make sure to share the Statcast version, because holy crap:
121 FEET COVERED! WHILE TRACKING A SMOKED BALL AND HEADING TOWARD A WALL. Mercy.
I mean, just look at this, and consider that Almora has already started to run, the ball is already into the outfield, and this is where he catches it:
That is just so impressive. He was fully 3/4 of the way through tracking that one and I was certain it was going to fall in if Jason Heyward didn’t get there. Turns out, Heyward wasn’t even close, and it was Almora reeling it in, as he so often does.
Almora currently sits tied atop of the Statcast Outs Above Average leaderboard:
@bleachernation you'll like this one better pic.twitter.com/fmObWfo622
— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) April 16, 2019