Nando defies gravity with leaping catch
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SAN DIEGO -- The law of gravity applies to everyone. It just applies a little bit less to Fernando Tatis Jr.
The Padres superstar shortstop was up to his usual tricks on Monday night, in the Padres' 7-5 loss to the Nationals at Petco Park.
In the fourth inning, Tatis launched a 116 mph home run off the Western Metal Supply Co. building, the hardest-hit ball of his big league career. And that was just the opening act.
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The main event came in the top of the eighth when Ryan Zimmerman sent a line drive toward left field. Somehow, Tatis came down with the baseball at shortstop -- and the gravity-defying feat earned the Padres All-Star the Play of the Week Award.
On the back edge of the infield dirt, Tatis leapt, and when he'd already seemingly reached the high point of his jump, he got himself just a bit more air to snare the liner.
"Just how athletic he is and how long he is, it felt like he was up there 10 1/2 feet, went up there and grabbed that ball off Zimmerman," said Padres manager Jayce Tingler. "I'd be surprised if there's many other shortstops that can get up there. That was pretty special."
The reaction from Padres right-hander Pierce Johnson was all of ours: