<img alt="MLB: AUG 31 Braves at Phillies" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/WpoNc6Kd-qlaG5M4_6eSP-8OPPE=/111x140:1400x999/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73557805/2168917369.0.jpg">
Photo by Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Money Mike outdid himself on Saturday night with the incredible catch that he made. Even though the Atlanta Braves lost last night, I feel like we need to talk about that catch that Michael Harris II made last night. It really needs to be discussed further because we could really spend hours talking about how insane that catch was. Even for Money Mike’s lofty standards in terms of acrobatic outfield catches, this one was his magnum opus. This one was his Mona Lisa and it deserves to be given a deeper look for a bit.
So here’s the play in question. I know that a lot of y’all have already seen it before but let’s see it again because why not?
Perfect. What a thing of beauty.
However, it’s not just the catch itself that makes this a thing of beauty. It’s the reactions and just the little moments that makes this a great one. Let’s start with the most obvious part, which is that Michael Harris II was basically balancing horizontal on top of the fence in the process of making sure that he didn’t go over the fence with the ball while making the play. It’s an incredible feat of athleticism from Harris and also an incredible visual, to boot. This was probably my favorite part of the catch and if there’s such a thing as framing a screencap, I’d try to frame this one in particular. It looks like something out of a movie — a cartoon movie, at that.
Michael Harris's Catch pic.twitter.com/0ukbz0kyng— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 1, 2024
Let’s start with the initial reaction from Max Fried. My personal favorite type of baseball screenshot is the one where you can tell that a ball just got absolutely crushed. It’s because all you need to do is look at the pitcher or the hitter (sometimes both) and you can just tell that the hitter got every stitch of it and/or the pitcher just threw a meatball and he knew it from the second it made contact with the bat. In this case, Fried looked pretty certain right here that this one was going into the bullpen area.
I don’t blame him, either! Despite the fact that he continued the crazy streak that the Braves’ starting pitchers are currently on in terms of giving up three runs or less in their starts, it was still a frustrating night on the mound for him and this would’ve been the cherry on top.
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/0kVXMcklCKHu_1wE8zzwOPjszGU=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25598642/Harris_Catch_1.png">
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Here’s what Fried had to say to Mark Bowman after the game:
“To that part of the park, I wasn’t sure if it was going to hold up, but it just kept going,” Fried said. “Once I saw [Harris] start to slow down, I was like, ‘Is he going to go to the track?’ Eventually, I saw him jump. As soon as he jumped, I immediately thought homer.”
You know who else was thinking homer? Some of the guys in Philadelphia’s bullpen. Some guys left their seats, one guy in particular had his hand up in anticipating of hitting a celebratory fist pimp and the guy warming up had his eyes locked on Harris as he was about to make what would surely be a futile attempt at catching it.
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/OcQsrx9B1gRASJqSociHeYpvvkY=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25598655/Harris_Catch_2.png">
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However, once it became clear that Money Mike had indeed completed the robbery, things changed in a hurry and instead of seeing fist bumps we saw glimpses of surrender cobras ready to take shape.
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/-r_nN2ZTXYZPraZCPR_-clu9rl0=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25598657/Harris_Catch_3.png">
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The reliever was probably the second-coolest guy in the ballpark when it comes to reacting to what happened. Instead of watching on and reacting in awe like all of his teammates did, he simply turned to the catcher and got back to work warming up. “Ah well, that’s that. Back to work.”
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/FptjPzPmPWI6JyGyWJlDRvQ7ubM=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25598664/Harris_catch_5__1_.gif">
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Another great moment was one of the ballpark workers at Citizens Bank Park popping out from behind the solid part of the fence to the chain link portion just to get a look at Harris as he left the scene of the robbery. It’s impossible to figure out what he was thinking but I’d imagine it was something close to the lines of “Holy moly, that’s pretty daggone cool.”
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/lNWEkYhvzTuFRulcwdya1UpjWZ8=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25598669/Harris_Catch_4.png">
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Coming back to Max Fried, he was probably the most impressed guy in the ballpark because, again, it was pretty safe to assume that he thought it was outta there. Usually a great catch warrants just a one-handed hat tip and that’s it. This was beyond a great catch and it deserved the both-arms-outstretched hat tip that Fried sent Harris’s way.
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/iOiaXPJ_Tl_JDT5DAQNWiM29idY=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25598673/Harris_Catch_6.png">
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Then we have Austin Hays’s reaction to getting robbed. While the Phillies were still up in this game, it was only a two-run deficit so an extra run of insurance (that they eventually ended up getting anyways) would’ve been lovely. It would’ve been lovely for Hays in particular, as he’s currently only sitting on a 99 wRC+ and has a grand total of four home runs this season. He would’ve been thrilled to see that number go up to five but instead, all he could do was smile and respect what just happened. Sometimes you’ve just got to defer to a moment of greatness and that’s okay!
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/u12tiQ7jqCNsbQCQkfxVWPvhl1U=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25598675/Harris_Catch_7.png">
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Remember when I said that the guy warming up in the bullpen was the second-coolest guy in the ballpark when it came to reacting to the catch? Well, that’s only because the coolest guy in the ballpark was the guy who made the catch, himself.
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/q1kpnCSam4BZchj4n-PJeXRcdIU=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25598678/Harris_Catch_8.png">
Fox Sports
“We’re playing one, y’all. One out.” Yeah, and that one out was the result of one of the coolest plays that you’ll see not just this season but in any given season. Michael Harris II is a special player and like the many other special players that the Braves have, we’re lucky to be able to see this guy play night in and night out. Who knows if he’ll ever top this catch but it’ll be fun to see him try!
<img alt="MLB: AUG 31 Braves at Phillies" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/WpoNc6Kd-qlaG5M4_6eSP-8OPPE=/111x140:1400x999/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73557805/2168917369.0.jpg">
Photo by Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Money Mike outdid himself on Saturday night with the incredible catch that he made. Even though the Atlanta Braves lost last night, I feel like we need to talk about that catch that Michael Harris II made last night. It really needs to be discussed further because we could really spend hours talking about how insane that catch was. Even for Money Mike’s lofty standards in terms of acrobatic outfield catches, this one was his magnum opus. This one was his Mona Lisa and it deserves to be given a deeper look for a bit.
So here’s the play in question. I know that a lot of y’all have already seen it before but let’s see it again because why not?
Perfect. What a thing of beauty.
However, it’s not just the catch itself that makes this a thing of beauty. It’s the reactions and just the little moments that makes this a great one. Let’s start with the most obvious part, which is that Michael Harris II was basically balancing horizontal on top of the fence in the process of making sure that he didn’t go over the fence with the ball while making the play. It’s an incredible feat of athleticism from Harris and also an incredible visual, to boot. This was probably my favorite part of the catch and if there’s such a thing as framing a screencap, I’d try to frame this one in particular. It looks like something out of a movie — a cartoon movie, at that.
Michael Harris's Catch pic.twitter.com/0ukbz0kyng— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 1, 2024
Let’s start with the initial reaction from Max Fried. My personal favorite type of baseball screenshot is the one where you can tell that a ball just got absolutely crushed. It’s because all you need to do is look at the pitcher or the hitter (sometimes both) and you can just tell that the hitter got every stitch of it and/or the pitcher just threw a meatball and he knew it from the second it made contact with the bat. In this case, Fried looked pretty certain right here that this one was going into the bullpen area.
I don’t blame him, either! Despite the fact that he continued the crazy streak that the Braves’ starting pitchers are currently on in terms of giving up three runs or less in their starts, it was still a frustrating night on the mound for him and this would’ve been the cherry on top.
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/0kVXMcklCKHu_1wE8zzwOPjszGU=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25598642/Harris_Catch_1.png">
Fox Sports
Here’s what Fried had to say to Mark Bowman after the game:
“To that part of the park, I wasn’t sure if it was going to hold up, but it just kept going,” Fried said. “Once I saw [Harris] start to slow down, I was like, ‘Is he going to go to the track?’ Eventually, I saw him jump. As soon as he jumped, I immediately thought homer.”
You know who else was thinking homer? Some of the guys in Philadelphia’s bullpen. Some guys left their seats, one guy in particular had his hand up in anticipating of hitting a celebratory fist pimp and the guy warming up had his eyes locked on Harris as he was about to make what would surely be a futile attempt at catching it.
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/OcQsrx9B1gRASJqSociHeYpvvkY=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25598655/Harris_Catch_2.png">
Fox Sports
However, once it became clear that Money Mike had indeed completed the robbery, things changed in a hurry and instead of seeing fist bumps we saw glimpses of surrender cobras ready to take shape.
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/-r_nN2ZTXYZPraZCPR_-clu9rl0=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25598657/Harris_Catch_3.png">
Fox Sports
The reliever was probably the second-coolest guy in the ballpark when it comes to reacting to what happened. Instead of watching on and reacting in awe like all of his teammates did, he simply turned to the catcher and got back to work warming up. “Ah well, that’s that. Back to work.”
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/FptjPzPmPWI6JyGyWJlDRvQ7ubM=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25598664/Harris_catch_5__1_.gif">
Fox Sports
Another great moment was one of the ballpark workers at Citizens Bank Park popping out from behind the solid part of the fence to the chain link portion just to get a look at Harris as he left the scene of the robbery. It’s impossible to figure out what he was thinking but I’d imagine it was something close to the lines of “Holy moly, that’s pretty daggone cool.”
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/lNWEkYhvzTuFRulcwdya1UpjWZ8=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25598669/Harris_Catch_4.png">
Fox Sports
Coming back to Max Fried, he was probably the most impressed guy in the ballpark because, again, it was pretty safe to assume that he thought it was outta there. Usually a great catch warrants just a one-handed hat tip and that’s it. This was beyond a great catch and it deserved the both-arms-outstretched hat tip that Fried sent Harris’s way.
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/iOiaXPJ_Tl_JDT5DAQNWiM29idY=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25598673/Harris_Catch_6.png">
Fox Sports
Then we have Austin Hays’s reaction to getting robbed. While the Phillies were still up in this game, it was only a two-run deficit so an extra run of insurance (that they eventually ended up getting anyways) would’ve been lovely. It would’ve been lovely for Hays in particular, as he’s currently only sitting on a 99 wRC+ and has a grand total of four home runs this season. He would’ve been thrilled to see that number go up to five but instead, all he could do was smile and respect what just happened. Sometimes you’ve just got to defer to a moment of greatness and that’s okay!
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/u12tiQ7jqCNsbQCQkfxVWPvhl1U=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25598675/Harris_Catch_7.png">
Fox Sports
Remember when I said that the guy warming up in the bullpen was the second-coolest guy in the ballpark when it came to reacting to the catch? Well, that’s only because the coolest guy in the ballpark was the guy who made the catch, himself.
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/q1kpnCSam4BZchj4n-PJeXRcdIU=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25598678/Harris_Catch_8.png">
Fox Sports
“We’re playing one, y’all. One out.” Yeah, and that one out was the result of one of the coolest plays that you’ll see not just this season but in any given season. Michael Harris II is a special player and like the many other special players that the Braves have, we’re lucky to be able to see this guy play night in and night out. Who knows if he’ll ever top this catch but it’ll be fun to see him try!
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