'Swaggerty' goes full Spidey for shot at catch

DETROIT -- Is Sam Haggerty an alter-ego for Peter Parker? Because the Mariners’ utilityman sure looked like Spider-Man with an epic near-catch on Thursday that had all in baseball social media circles swirling.

On a sky-high fly ball into left-field foul territory during the seventh inning of Seattle’s 7-0 win over the Tigers at Comerica Park, Haggerty left his feet, raced into the protective netting, somehow corralled the ball into his glove, sprung back-first onto the playing surface, lost control of the ball in the process, landed flat on his buttocks then rolled over on his belly, smiling.

Even Haggerty -- known by Mariners fans as “Swaggerty” for his ability for his flair in the field -- couldn’t believe his latest act.

“Worst-case scenario, I'll just fly into the net and it catches me,” Haggerty said. “I didn't think much bad could happen. ... I felt pretty comfortable. I felt like the net would catch me, and once I kind of got stuck on the net, it was like, ‘All right, I’m alright. Let’s fall backwards.’"

The initial ruling on the field was an out by third-base umpire Gabe Morales, but after a challenge by the Tigers, the call was overturned after the replay review revealed that the ball made contact with the net. Nonetheless, it was a spectacular effort by a player who, in the words of Mariners manager Scott Servais, “makes things happen” when he’s on the field.

“He knows when he’s running toward it. If the net wasn’t there, he’d be dead right now,” Servais said, laughing. “That’s Haggs. He’s always very aware of his surroundings and what's going on. The players that make those kind of plays, they’re looking to make those kinds of plays.”

Even the Tigers were impressed.

"With nobody on base, it's unbelievable effort,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “With guys on base, they would've advanced even if it was a catch.”

Adding credence to Haggerty’s hustle, diligence and work ethic is that he said he dove into the net based on video study of other players who’ve done so and emerged unhurt. On Wednesday, Oakland’s Tony Kemp had an eerily similar play, but he didn't come as close to an out as Haggerty did.

That allowed Haggerty the mental conviction to make the seemingly super risky endeavor with no apprehension. There also were no fans in the front row where Haggerty impacted among a sparsely ticketed 14,393 crowd.

“You watch some guys make really good plays go crashing into the net, you kind of see them use the net as a means to catch them,” Haggerty said. “So I just kind of saw an opportunity and just said, ‘Why not?’”

It was an inconsequential play in a game that was already well decided, yet it underscored just how hard Haggerty plays -- and how valuable he could be for a Mariners team firmly in the AL Wild Card hunt.