Colorado Rockies’ Jake McCarthy was about to live every ballplayer’s dream — hitting a walk-off home run at home to give his team a victory at the MLB level.
But McCarthy wasn’t the one playing hero on Monday night at Coors Field. The cape was worn by Baltimore Orioles center fielder Colton Cowser, who looked like he was flying when he executed perhaps the greatest walk-off home run robbery of all time.
In the bottom of the ninth inning and a runner on second base for the Rockies with two outs, McCarthy had the opportunity to at least tie the game and force extra innings with a base knock to knot things up at two runs apiece.
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Instead, McCarthy connected his barrel to an Andrew Kittredge pitch, and the ball went soaring toward the deepest part of the field at 415 feet to dead center.
Cowser was tracking the ball the entire way, inching himself closer to the wall and trying to anticipate when he needed to jump – because he absolutely had to as it kept carrying toward the fence.
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McCarthy was rounding the bases hoping it had enough juice to get past a potential robbery, but Cowser crushed that hope when he leapt along the fence and snatched the ball that was destined to end the game in favor of the home team.
As he came crashing down onto the warning track, Cowser was already in immense celebration, screaming as everyone would after making such a tremendous catch to end the ballgame.
McCarthy couldn’t do anything but smirk as he went back to the dugout defeated, which is the only feeling the Rockies had after witnessing a highlight-reel grab.
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The catch quickly went viral on social media, as baseball lovers couldn’t fathom what they witnessed. Even Orioles great Adam Jones had to tip his cap to Cowser.
“Wow what an amazing catch by Cowser to end the game. One of the best catches I’ve ever seen,” Jones wrote on X. “Defense and speed are things that can’t slump! Helluva athlete.”
This catch may have been late in the night, at least for Orioles fans on the East Coast. But it meant a ton in terms of the Orioles’ playoff hopes.
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Baltimore is an even 69-69 after Cowser’s heroics, and though that record doesn’t usually scream postseason bound at this time of year, the American League hasn’t been as strong as years past.
The Orioles are just half-a-game out of the third AL Wild Card spot, which the 69-68 Cleveland Guardians hold for the moment. The Texas Rangers (1.5 games), Toronto Blue Jays (1.5 games) and Minnesota Twins (3.5 games) are also gunning for a spot in what should be a very close race as the final month of the regular season kicks off on Tuesday.
Cowser’s catch, in turn, meant so much in the moment and also for the potential future where every game truly counts for teams like the Orioles hoping for a chance at a World Series come October.
