Boston Red Sox Centerfielder Ceddanne Rafaela Made The Catch Of The Season Last Night

I don’t care if you hate the Red Sox, love the Red Sox, or couldn’t pick Ceddanne Rafaela out of a police lineup – what he did Saturday night against the Diamondbacks was flat-out absurd.

With one out in the fifth, Sox trailing 4-1, Lucas Giolito hung a 1-2 changeup to Corbin Carroll. Carroll got all of it. The ball was headed toward that weird little pool area in right-center at Chase Field- the one that feels like it should have a lazy river and some guy serving $18 margaritas. Off the bat, it was a no-doubter. 

A 404-foot blast that would’ve been a home run in 25 of 30 ballparks.

Except Rafaela decided, “Nah, fuckk that, not tonight.”

The guy planted his foot on the wall like he was on American Ninja Warrior, launched himself into the air, and straight-up stole Carroll’s home run. We’re talking full-extension, robbery-level theft.  

For a split second, it looked bad. Rafaela dropped to his knees after the play, screaming. Everyone thought he either missed it or tweaked something coming down. 

If there was any debate left about who the best defensive outfielder in baseball is, this play just slammed the door shut. Rafaela’s range is already insane, but this was some next-level, highlight-for-the-ages stuff. Red Sox fans might still be stressing about the offense, but at least they’ve got a human cheat code patrolling center field.