No thought, all action: Gamel dazzles with stunning catch

CHICAGO -- Ben Gamel wasn’t afforded the opportunity to think. He couldn’t think. There was no time to think. Only action would suffice, and on this night, Gamel was about that action.

Gamel shocked and awed Wrigley Field’s masses with an exhibition of athleticism and glovesmanship amidst the Pirates’ 3-2 loss to the Cubs, robbing Christopher Morel with a Superman-esque diving catch, a play that even Chicago’s faithful had to respect. Gamel is wont to sacrifice his body in the name of defense, and on Monday, said sacrifice yielded his latest gem.

“Honestly, you don’t really have time to think,” Gamel said. “You kind of react. [I put my] head down, ran to a spot and got lucky as [heck].”

“It really kind of happened in slow-mo,” said JT Brubaker, who watched Gamel’s theatrics unfold from the mound. “I saw the ball kind of slicing away from him, but I saw him on a beeline to it. As soon as he left his feet, I knew he had it.”

Before the exhilaration, Brubaker remembered feeling a tad shocked. He didn’t expect Morel to swing at his first-pitch curveball, a pitch that Morel promptly lined 103.7 mph to left field. Brubaker described feeling ambushed. He turned to his right, and there he saw Gamel, who had his own surprise.

Gamel got a good read. He pivoted his body, put his head down and sprinted after the hooking liner. He closed the gap. He leapt. He extended. Gamel needed to be perfect, and perfect he was. Ball met glove. Body met grass. Gamel tumbled to the earth and, in one smooth motion, used his momentum to pop back on his feet. Brubaker raised his hands to the sky and applauded.

“Anything in the air with our outfield, you feel like they’re going to run it down,” Brubaker said. “I have that confidence out there that they’re going to cover the gaps, cover the line quick and track a ball down.”

The highlight mirrored the one that Gamel made last season on Sept. 5, 2021, albeit with higher stakes. The Pirates were clinging to a one-run lead. The Cubs had runners on first and second with one out. Willson Contreras smoked a 101-mph line drive to left field. Alfonso Rivas, the runner on first, was intent on scoring the go-ahead run if the ball found dirt. Enter: No. 18.

Gamel galloped to his right, left his feet and extended his arm. His effort, his instincts, his bravado was rewarded. He made the catch. He saved, at the minimum, one run. Gamel crashed to the warning track dirt, forming a cloud of dust that engulfed his being. For a moment, he looked every bit the action hero.

“A lot of similarities,” Gamel said. “Very thankful this one was on the grass and not the track.”

Added Brubaker: “Gamel loves to make spectacular plays here at Wrigley.”

These kinds of catches have become common for Gamel. Come next week, he might be making these plays in another uniform.

Gamel is one of several veteran players who could be dealt to a contender come next week’s Trade Deadline. He provides a solid bat (106 wRC+), can draw walks (12.0 percent walk rate) and plays both corner positions (379 innings in left field this season, 86 2/3 innings in right field). That’s a skillset that most contenders would deem valuable.

“I've been traded a few times,” Gamel said following the Daniel Vogelbach trade. “I don't think it's anything I can control, so I try to eliminate the noise and just go out and play.”

Gamel has no say in the front office’s inner machinations. Where he can exhibit control is the small patch of grass known as left field. Gamel added to an already extensive list of exhilarating moments. When the next opportunity arises, he won’t think twice. He’ll be ready to act.