Waddaya Call It?

[Edgy MD]

A guy reaches over the fence and grabs a ball apparently destined to be a homerun. It's one of the most exciting and signature plays in the game, but what do you call it?

When it's happening, the player is said to "rob (Batter's Name) of a homerun." But what is the play called as a noun or noun phrase when recollected and discussed? "Has Shinjo ever had a... homer-catch-thingy?"

You strike a guy out, you get a strikeout. You steal a base, you get a stolen base. In baseball, actions become nouns for recollection and tabulation.

A "Homerun Theft" Is brief enough, but a little awkward and formal and suggestive of something underhanded about a play that's all about skill and effort and has nothing to do with deviousness or scheming. It only gets 71 hits on Google.

A "Pullback" is descriptive enough but sort of understates the heroic scale of the thing. This gets 15,000,000 hits, but how many are about baseball? It's financial definition is the only one cited in the dictionaries I consulted.

Do you have a term? Do we need a term? Should we coin a term?



YaxpAkOWNM0

[Ceetar]

an Endy.

[Centerfield]

An Endy.

On Edit: DAMMIT DAMMIT DAMMIT. MUST TYPE FASTER.

[Edgy MD]

Not a good bet for universal adoption, but I'm on board.

[Centerfield]

It's crazy the Mets didn't win that game. I thought for sure we were going to the World Series after that catch. Especially after they loaded the bases in the bottom of that inning. Many remember the Beltran called strike three. It kills me to think of that Valentin at-bat.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

YES a million times, it was fucking Valentin.

[Centerfield]

It should have been a bases clearing double. That was what the '06 Mets did.

Then Endy came up, and I thought "Well I guess this is just going to be the Endy Chavez game." When they failed to score, I got a real bad sinking feeling.

[Ceetar]

Centerfield wrote: It's crazy the Mets didn't win that game. I thought for sure we were going to the World Series after that catch. Especially after they loaded the bases in the bottom of that inning. Many remember the Beltran called strike three. It kills me to think of that Valentin at-bat.

That catch, especially if the Mets won it all, would've gone right up there with like, Buckner. Same with the Ventura Grand Single.

instead they stay at 'Pujols off Lidge' status, which is still pretty nice, but..

[Edgy MD]

I've read Met fans declare that they hate seeing the catch replayed because of it's associations.

[Ceetar]

Edgy DC wrote: I've read Met fans declare that they hate seeing the catch replayed because of it's associations.

I didn't see the catch for about a year after it happened.

Although Gary Cohen's play-by-play of it was one of the possible start up sound bytes for MLB The Show 2007 the next year, so that reopened the wounds a bit.

[TransMonk]

Rob Job.

[A Boy Named Seo]

Damn near forgotten about the Valentin bases-loaded K. Wish I could watch that whole game again. Was a nervous wreck & fairly certain I was fairly buzzin' for most of it.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Jesus. They walked Shawn Green to get to you, and this is what you do.

[Centerfield]

Just awful. I didn't realize it was a Rolen error that opened the door. How poetic that would have been.

Damnit, they should have won that fucking game. Fuck fuck fuck.

[metirish]

I was confused , I saw Valentin and thought John Valentin was on the Mets in 2006?.....but it's Jose.

Edited October 20, 2011 by Guest

[Edgy MD]

People's goatly focus on Beltran and Heilman and Randolph (for not bunting with Floyd or sending Glavine up there to pinch-hit) is just mis-applied. Floyd and Valentin where the key whiffers.

Which is whatever. It's a team game. But Floyd joining in the piling on of Randolph after the fact was weak.

[Centerfield]

Yes, exactly. This is not meant to scapegoat anyone. But if you're going to cry about turning points, this is the one to cry about.

I loved the fact that Willie let Floyd hit. I said at that time that for that moment, WWSB became Wild Willie Big Balls.

Unfortunately it didn't last.

[Vic Sage]

HR grab, HR snatch, HR steal
or if you like alliteration: homer haul-in, homer heist

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

yeah for me the Valentin thing was where we blew it. That turn at bat was exactly the kind of crap the Mets started giving us that September and it continued until they fired WWSB 21 months later. I didn't have much faith in Floyd coming though as I recall it but it would have been cool.

[Gwreck]

Fuck Valentin, the problem with this series was Steve Trachsel phoning it in for Game 3. That is where things went off track. We should've never even been in a Game 7 with a clearly inferior team.

[Edgy MD]

Whoah. Homer by Suppan.

[TransMonk]

Gwreck wrote: ...the problem with this series was Steve Trachsel phoning it in for Game 3...

I was seconds away from posting this...although, the offense also phoned in Game 3.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

The painful IGT, complete with Rogers' shitty lyrics and Ashie behaving like a douchebag at the end.

http://archives.cranepoolforum.net/5000/f14_t5019.shtml

[HahnSolo]

Trax did poop his pants, but in fairness, I don't think any Met pitcher was outpitching Suppan that night.

[metirish]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: The painful IGT, complete with Rogers' shitty lyrics and Ashie behaving like a douchebag at the end. http://archives.cranepoolforum.net/5000/f14_t5019.shtml

Damn, read it over, that was exhilarating and then the worst kind of sinking feeling ever......all over again.

[A Boy Named Seo]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: yeah for me the Valentin thing was where we blew it. That turn at bat was exactly the kind of crap the Mets started giving us that September and it continued until they fired WWSB 21 months later. I didn't have much faith in Floyd coming though as I recall it but it would have been cool.

Was it, like, a 3-pitch K? Anyone remember?

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: The painful IGT, complete with Rogers' shitty lyrics and Ashie behaving like a douchebag at the end. http://archives.cranepoolforum.net/5000/f14_t5019.shtml

That thread went to total shit at the end. Felt like we were doomed from Limp Bizkit. What about our gushing love for Ollie? Oliver's Army?? Plans for post-game (or in-game) sex so that you can have a first-born and name him Oliver??? Yes, please.

[Frayed Knot]

Was it, like, a 3-pitch K? Anyone remember?

5-pitches. It was a 1-2 count so there must have also been a 2-strike foul in there somewhere*.
Endy then flew out (more like a pop IIRC) on the first pitch.




* oe: Ball - Foul - Swinging Strike - Foul - Swinging Strike

[Gwreck]

5 years already and I still can't stop thinking about this game. I still am positive we would have won the World Series.

In fairness to Valentin, he did get the leadoff single in the 9th when we had a critical need for baserunners.

I still believe as much now as I did then that Cliff was going to hit a homer and become an all-time Mets legend. While most of what happened between the Catch and Molina is a blur to me, I clearly remember the 9th and bunting with Glavine never crossed my mind for a second.

[Vic Sage]

the sinking feeling it gives me is to realize we lost Rottblatt, Valadius and Zvon, but we still have Steve Rogers and Cleon/Ashie.
not a good trend for the Pool.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Probably near the end of Hillbilly's tenure, unless he's posting under another name all this time.