The Fransden Catch

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

 exactly

[_sturt_]

I doubt he'd ever practiced a play like that. It's not uncommon for players to try and catch the ball behind their back during pre-game warmups or batting practice just goofing around, but not anything like what he did last night. It's just an reflexive stab in the dark that happened to work out. He'll likely never do that again in his life.

I'm uncertain what the nuance is between "practiced" and "goofing around"... sure, he never would have wanted to have to try it in a game, but as you seem to agree, I'm pretty lock-certain he's "goofed" around and done that before in batting practice. He just got himself out of position, and then in a split second, and knowing how direly he needed to correct his bad position, did what he did.

[tomterp]

You don't plan a play like that. They just happen, it's more reflex than anything.

@JerryBlevins_13   I saw @KevinFrandsen practice this play in BP

[DPMOmaha]

I'm uncertain what the nuance is between "practiced" and "goofing around"... sure, he never would have wanted to have to try it in a game, but as you seem to agree, I'm pretty lock-certain he's "goofed" around and done that before in batting practice. He just got himself out of position, and then in a split second, and knowing how direly he needed to correct his bad position, did what he did.

You mean throw balls off the wall, turn and run the other direction while catching it behind his back? I doubt it. I've been around a lot of professional baseball players and never seen them practice that or anything similar, even in goofing around. What I have seen them do is  try and catch it behind their back while standing stationary playing catch. That sort of stuff happens all the time. This had about three more degrees of difficulty added to it than that.

[imref]

it's fun seeing the tweets from phillies fans today complaining that the team kept Nix and let Fransden go.

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

Fransden is full-on ninja LF

[HalfSmokes]

it made deadspin http://deadspin.com/this-is-how-you-play-a-ball-off-the-wall-1569893306

[_sturt_]

You mean throw balls off the wall, turn and run the other direction while catching it behind his back? I doubt it. I've been around a lot of professional baseball players and never seen them practice that or anything similar, even in goofing around. What I have seen them do is  try and catch it behind their back while standing stationary playing catch. That sort of stuff happens all the time. This had about three more degrees of difficulty added to it than that.

hehe... well, to be honest, I don't know exactly what I mean... perhaps in batting practice something like that has happened before... perhaps it's just what you've just described, and then his reflexes allowed him to deal with the three more degrees of difficulty... but the point being, the ball didn't completely luck into his glove... freeze the frame as the ball comes off the wall, and you see him watching its trajectory as he runs back toward the infield to correct his initial bad read... he may have initially thought he was running to catch up with a ball that would be bouncing back beside him, but it came off at just the right angle and he was able to nab it.

[imref]

it made deadspin http://deadspin.com/this-is-how-you-play-a-ball-off-the-wall-1569893306

"Rickey Henderson wants to unretire just to try it."

:

[Lintyfresh85]

Anyone got the MASN call?

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Anyone got the MASN call?

Bob:  That ball is deep and its out of . . . I mean past, uh, tosses it in to hold the runner at 3d.   Still 2-1.
FP:  JT Snow did something like this . . .

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

 

[Lintyfresh85]

Bob:  That ball is deep and its out of . . . I mean past, uh, tosses it in to hold the runner at 3d.   Still 2-1.
FP:  JT Snow did something like this . . .

Gold Jerry, gold!

[spidernat]

freeze the frame as the ball comes off the wall, and you see him watching its trajectory as he runs back toward the infield to correct his initial bad read...

If his hand eye coordination was that good he probably wouldn't be a bench player.

[welch]

It's an infielder's pay. A good back-hand and then some. Frandsen sort of shrugs at the end of the play.

Incidentally, daughter saw Tyler Clippard catch a BP fly ball reaching around his back catch the ball on his right side. However, Clippard was joking with Drew Storen, who tried the same catch on the next fly ball, and missed.  Pretty hard even when there are no runners on base.

[Copecwby20]

I saw Ian Desmond throw his glove in the air and "catch" a line drive about 20 feet off the deck in Atlanta. It was crazy....the glove landed with the ball still inside of it. I know it was all luck... but that doesn't mean it's not cool. I swear some of you would dissect the amount of skill involved in a blow job or if it was all luck instead of just laying back and being happy that you're getting some dome.

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

I'm calling bullcrap here. 

I swear some of you would dissect the amount of skill involved in a blow job or if it was all luck instead of just laying back and being happy that you're getting some dome.

[mitlen]

I swear some of you would dissect the amount of skill involved in a blow job or if it was all luck instead of just laying back and being happy that you're getting some dome.

The "pick the white out of chicken crap" syndrome.