Yasiel Puig's incredible throw to nab Trevor Story was an homage to Jose Guillen
Yasiel Puig's throw on Friday night to nail Trevor Story at third base was really, really impressive, another in a long succession of Puig throws that seem determined to break us from the constraints of physics.
And the funny thing is, we've seen it before, almost exactly:
Transport yourself back to July 27, 1998. Bill Clinton is president, and two movies about the Earth's impending celestial doom dominate the box office. A young Jose Guillen is in his second Major League season, manning right field for the Pirates in their game against the Rockies at Coors Field. Colorado shortstop Neifi Perez rockets a ball into right, and ...
Watch that and tell Puig's throw wasn't a beat-for-beat reenactment -- same leaping catch attempt, same bounce off the wall, same blistering throw across the entire field to catch a bold runner trying to stretch for three. Practically identical.
That's not to take anything away from Puig's throw. If anything, it's even more impressive that he was able to pull off such an accurate homage to such an incredible play.