Two months ago, Angel in the outfield Jo Adell robbed three home runs in a single game, in what I'm sure will stand up as the best defensive performance of the season. Last night, he made an error that forced me to question if those incredible catches were all just a dream.
“It's one of those things where how it happened looks crazy,” Adell said after the game. “It looks like I've never played in the field before, which is disappointing, because it's beyond the truth, but it is what it is. I'm the only one that really knows what happened. I was out there, and it happened to me, so it is what it is.”
Well, I can take a guess at what happened. Rockies hitter TJ Rumfield hit a long fly to deep right-center, and Adell ran over to try to make a catch. As he put his glove up for the out, he misjudged where the ball was going to land. It took a very slight deflection off his leather, bonked him in the top of the head, and then traveled over the yellow line for a Colorado home run. From where I'm sitting, it sure looks like Adell got Canseco-ed.
Look. I get it. On Tuesday, I played for Team Hell Gate/Defector in a softball game where I, too, looked like I had never played in the field before. I actually had never played in the field before, but that’s not the point. Nor is the point that Adell may be regressing to the fielder he was last season, when he rated among the very worst in all of baseball.
No, the point is that Jo Adell has range.
It's easy to look at the bonk in question and write it off as an embarrassing mishap that should not be committed by any player above single-A. But really, Jo Adell has shown us all the full spectrum of human ability. In the span of two months, he has showcased both the best and worst defensive play that baseball has to offer. On one end, the near-divine athleticism that makes you say Wow. And on the other, a whimsical, cartoonish gaffe. Either way, I'd rather take my fielding advice from him than from Tom Ley.
