Neither walls nor excited fans could stop Shawn O'Malley's heroic leap into the stands
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Whenever a player veers over toward the stands in pursuit of a foul ball, any number of amusing scenarios can play out.
As has been proven on numerous occasions this season, players tumbling over the wall while trying to make a great grab can lead to some cheesy situations, stunned fan reactions and other noteworthy circumstances. After all, it's probably pretty weird to see a big, tall baseball player suddenly running at you, full speed.
Mariners outfielder Shawn O'Malley (who has actually played more shortstop than outfield this season, impressively) is the latest player to act out this phenomenon, and his effort in Monday's 7-5 win over the Yankees at Safeco Field was worth a shoutout due to its level of difficulty. Notice how O'Malley barely gives that cursory, "How far am I from the wall?" look outfielders do when they're in this situation. Notice how absolutely dedicated he is to the play, no matter what:
Considering the heaving throng of M's fans in the vicinity, it's a wonder O'Malley was able to reach the ball, pull it in, hold on to it while crashing into the stands and make it all look rather easy.
Here's another look at the scene after O'Malley came down with the ball intact in his glove:
MLB.com's Greg Johns talked to the man of the hour postgame:
"Everybody thinks about jumping into the stands and making the great catch, but you don't really think about the consequences after it. What you're going to hit, who you're going ot hit. Fortunately tonight I didn't hit anybody, I felt I got let down nice and soft, which was great, and I did so with the ball in my glove, which was awesome."
O'Malley did have one regret, though.
"I should have seen if somebody had a hot dog."
That's an all-out effort in just about every way, and is arguably one of the finest into-the-stands catches to have taken place so far this season. There's still time left for aspiring fielders to enter themselves into the conversation (and perhaps even launch their own version of #TheRizzo), but the clock is ticking!