AJ Pollock was recognized by MLB for his home run robbery against San Diego Padres’ star Manny Machado in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 5-2 victory at Petco Park last week.
Pollock’s web gem cam in the bottom of the fourth inning while the Dodgers were leading 1-0. With a runner on first base, Julio Urias threw a slider at the bottom of the zone that Machado belted into left field.
Before the ball was able to land in the stands, Pollock made a jumping play to take the ball away from three fans who were also trying to catch it.
Machado’s flyout, which was hit at 104.6 MPH, had an expected batting average of .600 and at 379 feet, it was the second furthest hit ball in the game. Pollock’s catch also increased the Dodgers win probability from 58% to 61%, according to Statcast.
Home run robbery in San Diego.
Congratulations AJ on earning MLB's Play of the Week Award! pic.twitter.com/DP4ArR6sRp
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 30, 2021
The game ended up becoming the AJ Pollock show as he also came through at the plate.
In the top of the seventh inning with the Dodgers still leading 1-0, Pollock stepped up with the bases loaded and one out. In a 2-0 count, he hit a fastball into right field for a two-run single.
This season, Pollock has been an above-average defender for the team, ranking 99th of 243 qualified defenders (and 58th of 122 among outfielders) with one out above average.
This is the second time a Dodger has earned the Play of the Week honors as Mookie Betts also did it against the Padres earlier in the season with his tremendous game-ending catch on a fly ball hit to the gap.
Pollock’s last robbery attempt
When the Dodgers faced the New York Mets three days earlier, Pollock had another chance to rob a home run from Pete Alonso hit a ball into left field that just cleared the wall.
However, Pollock backed into the wall and didn’t get off the ground much when he attempted to jump before falling all the way to the ground. After the ball cleared the fence, Pollock sat on the warning track for a moment as he was clearly disappointed in himself.
Luckily for Pollock, he was given another chance to prove he is a more athletic player than what he showed against the Mets.
“Honestly, I was thinking about my last time I tried to rob a homer and embarrassed myself,” Pollock said after his catch against the Padres. “I kind of saw it was carrying a little bit, got near the wall and I just didn’t want to jump late like I did last time and run into the wall.
“The timing was right and I was able to make the grab. … That’s kind of me just saying, ‘Don’t embarrass yourself like last time.’ The ball is right there, and you run into the wall when you’re about to jump, you look very unathletic. It’s just a mental thing.
“I wanted to make sure I got the jump off. Sometimes you don’t know quite where you are on the field, and that’s what happened last time. I thought I had another step, and I didn’t. I speared the wall on my way up and looked stupid. Just kind of made that little adjustment.”
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