Former big leaguers don’t always get many chances to remind everyone they can still make a play, but two coaches around MLB did exactly that this week.
Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly and Royals bullpen coach Mitch Stetter both flashed quick hands from their usual spots - Mattingly from the dugout, Stetter from the bullpen - and each turned a loose ball into a highlight.
Mattingly was sitting on the railing of the Chase Field away dugout on Tuesday when he spotted a bouncing foul ball. He reached out with his right hand, snagged it cleanly, and barely had to move to do it. Then he brushed it off as if it was just another routine moment.
That fits. Mattingly won nine Gold Glove Awards over his 14 years with the Yankees.
Stetter’s grab came Wednesday, and it was the flashier one. Royals rookie Carter Jensen was already having a night, and his 21st homer of the year - his second of the game - left the bat in the fourth inning and traveled a Statcast-projected 398 feet before landing straight into Kansas City’s home bullpen.
The Royals’ broadcast captured Stetter moving to his left and reaching out with his right hand to stab the ball. That’s notable enough on its own, but even more so because Stetter was a left-handed pitcher, meaning that right hand was typically his glove hand.
Stetter didn’t win the same kind of defensive awards Mattingly did during his playing days with the Brewers, but the play was the kind that could easily land in the catch of the year conversation.
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