When Aaron Hill popped up a harmless fly ball in first base foul territory on Sunday afternoon against the Chicago Cubs, he probably wasn’t too happy with himself. He probably did take comfort, however, in the fact that he would likely have another swing to make up for that miss.
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Unfortunately for him and for the Diamondbacks, that chance was taken from him as first baseman Anthony Rizzo reached into the dugout, flipped over the railing, and held on for an outstanding catch.
What might be lost in Rizzo’s All-Star campaign is the fact that he has played solid defense so far in the big leagues. When his bat was still struggling to break through in 2013, he was good for 16 defensive runs saved (DRS). While he defense has not been quite as stellar in 2014, at least as far as the metrics are concerned (1 DRS), his ability to field should not be overlooked.
In this case, Rizzo made an outstanding play and managed not to hurt himself after he flipped over the railing. During an outstanding season as he establishes himself as a core player for the Cubs, Rizzo delivered a fine defensive play on Sunday afternoon.
Checking out video of Rizzo’s great, flipping catch below courtesy of MLB.com: