Years ago, David Wright made one of the best catches I've ever seen live. It was as if Jim Edmonds met Captain Hook. A spectacular diving, over-the-shoulder barehanded catch. It might not compare to Kevin Mitchell's nothing-but-palm snag, but you catch my drift.
The point is barehanded snags in baseball are always freakin' awesome. They're super rare because, well, gloves exist and they have for quite some time. But sometimes fielders lose their gloves and must commit to these types of plays in a pinch.
One high schooler in Georgia hauled in a pop-up with nothing but his paws, and his teammates couldn't get enough of it.
Nick Foster's Barehanded Catch
? No glove
? No problem@P27Blacksmiths's Nick Foster (@CSUBucsBaseball) had it covered.@prepbaseball | @PBR_SC | @naaconference(?? @PBRGeorgia) pic.twitter.com/wKdCblf8R5
— LakePoint Sports (@LakePointSports) May 17, 2022
That smart third baseman is Nick Foster. He's from Hartsville, South Carolina. He was playing for P27 Academy at Prep Baseball Report Georgia's LakePoint Sports complex in Emerson, Georgia, when the opposing batter skied one high his way.
As he drifted toward it, the runner on third base dashed back to tag up and ran into Foster, knocking his glove clean off his hands. Who needs a stinkin' glove anyway? Foster stuck with it and caught the ball barehanded. And for what it's worth, he has a real case for the umpire to call interference on the runner.
The best part of this play comes right after the catch. Listen to those teammates. One of them sounds like he's being chased by Michael Myers, but it's clear he's just a tad excited. I can't even blame him. That's exactly what coaches want to see out of their players.
Foster's play has already racked up more than two million views on TikTok. Many of the commenters have chimed in, saying it's no big deal and that this is basically cricket. Cool. Except it's not. It was an awesome play from a kid who committed to play for Charleston Southern University.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that CSU is getting a gamer next season.
