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A sports one here, baseball. Brooks Robinson, 1970 World Series. Brooks made an unbelievable number of unbelievable plays in that series, but there is one…
I can’t post vid cuz MLB is what they are… I have it (twice) on Ken Burns’ Baseball series.
Lee May, a fearsome right-handed hitter, hits a ball very hard, couple-bouncer, hit in front of the plate to the outsidemost corner of the bag at third. Sharp angle. The play is shown twice in Ken Burns’ vids, once in real time, once in slo-mo. I have watched both literally 100’s of times. Even the slo-mo version… on slo-mo on my VCR. Basically frame-by-frame.
The shot is from about the 1st base dugout. May hits the ball. It travels down to the astroturf of old Riverfront Stadium, with much topspin… Brooks not in the frame…
ball hits turf and bounces up… Brooks not in the frame…
ball bends back downward because of the topspin… Brooks not in the frame…
ball hits turf again and bounces back up… Brooks not in the frame…
ball approaches third base bag… Brooks now at full speed comes into frame
ball bends again downward, over the bag fair, past the bag, in foul territory, and Brooks’ backhand glove is in front of it
He gloves it, and in one motion, heaves it towards 1st base, throwing off-balance, falling, completely giving up his body for the throw… consequences be damned.
What really makes me bawl is the Baltimore play-by-play (HOFer) LEGEND, Chuck Thompson’s call over top of this…
And the 1st base ump. He has his elbows clenched into his ribs, his fists clenched, almost wishing the throw will get May, salivating to call the out…
1st base ump’s back arches, right fist goes up in the air!
Just describing it makes me teary.
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Made me cry too because I hate(d) the Orioles as I was a Big Red Machine fan.
I still can’t acknowledge BR’s greatness because of the heartache he caused me that series. The pains of an 11 year old baseball fanatic burn eternally.