Kansas City Royals stack defensive gems in New York: ‘Wish I had popcorn watching it’
Kansas City Royals outfielder Kyle Isbel couldn’t believe his eyes. He needed a moment to collect his thoughts Friday night against the New York Yankees.
What he had just witnessed was something only a video game can replicate.
In the fifth inning, Royals teammate Bobby Witt Jr. hauled in a sliding catch down the left-field line. He tracked down a fly ball from Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo.
Isbel was so amazed that he asked himself a simple question: How?
“Honestly, I just sit back and wish I had popcorn watching it,” Isbel said. “That ball, off the bat, I was like there is no way anybody gets there. From the side view I had, just watching him close on that ball was incredible.”
Witt raced from his shortstop position and snared the baseball just inside the line. The terrific catch was the second out of the frame.
This season, Witt has made similar last-ditch effort grabs. His ability to use his 30.4 (ft/s) sprint speed, which ranks second in the MLB, plays a big role.
Witt has a 7.0 FRAA (fielding runs above average) per Fangraphs. This statistic takes into account different metrics to describe the number of defensive plays an average player would make at the position.
“That was an incredible play,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “We have seen him do that three or four times this year. I don’t know how far he went to cover that. There are very few people who make that play.”
The Royals turned in two defensive highlights on Friday. Isbel left his mark in the seventh inning by taking away a potential home run.
Isbel robbed Yankees infielder Oswald Pereza at the center-field wall. He shaded Pereza toward the right-center gap and raced across the field to make the play.
The theft negated the Yankees from adding another run. New York won 5-4 Friday night.
“I thought it was a homer off the bat,” Isbel said. “But I knew it was going to be close if it was. I just put my head down and ran to the spot where it was going to be. I looked up and saw I had a play on it.”
The catch drew applause from Royals reliever Taylor Clarke. He raised his arms in appreciation of the terrific play.
Royals second baseman Michael Massey also marveled at the feat. He hit two home runs in Friday’s game.
“It’s kind of fun at second base getting a front-row seat to both of them,” Massey said. “They are super athletic and great defenders.”
Isbel admitted that it was difficult to judge the fly ball while searching for the outfield wall. As a result, Quatraro credited Isbel for reading the baseball off the bat. He said the initial jump made all the difference.
“That’s his strength,” Quatraro said. “Those jumps are what he does best. He tracks the ball really well and his routes are good. He is elite in his jumps. That is what the best of the best do.”
The Royals have one of the top outfields. They own an MLB-leading 22 outfield assists this season. Nine different Royals have an outfield assist with MJ Melendez leading the team with six.
A lot of credit goes to the Royals analytics department and the coaching staff. The group helps create reports that put the outfielders in the right positions.
“We work with the coaches to make in-game adjustments,” Isbel said. ‘They help us a lot.”
This story was originally published July 22, 2023 at 12:13 PM.
