Since the Rockies blew a late lead and lost to the Phillies on Monday night, the play Dexter Fowler made when he leaped over Chase Utley to get to second base will be overshadowed, but I wanted to make sure to give it a proper tribute here.
The athleticism he showed was quite impressive. It was mimicked by former Heisman winner and current Yoga student Ricky Williams in the Dolphins-Jets game on Monday night, but while such plays are fairly frequent in football, that’s hardly the case in baseball, where the highly structured boundaries of the game generally prevent such things.
Fowler’s play was reminiscent of the play Willie Mays Hayes – a SportsAngle favorite – made in the movie Major League 2, when he somersaulted over notorious movie villain Jack Parkman. Except that it was real. And it was in the middle of the field. And he also stayed completely upright, making it even more difficult.
I’ve been impressed with Fowler this season for his ability to steal bases. But the body control he demonstrated here by not touching Utley while jumping over him – which would have constituted interference – was just about the most impressive thing I’ve seen in sports in a long time. Much like Endy Chavez’s incredible catch for the 2006 Mets in Game 7 of the NLCS – also a loss – Fowler’s leap is destined to be overlooked.
Just not on this site.
