Normally when a center fielder makes a play at the plate, it involves nailing someone with a rocket of a throw. Well one Ohio high school center fielder used his legs, not his arm, to make a highlight-reel play on Friday.
In a varsity baseball game between Ft. Recovery and Marion Local, Mason Local center fielder Griffin Burns showed previously unseen levels of hustle on a baseball diamond. It all began when Ft. Recovery batter Caden Grisez hit a blooper into the outfield. The ball dropped between three Marion players, and Burns eventually scooped it up.
Normally, this would be a single. But, with the shortstop and second baseman both in shallow center field after unsuccessfully trying to catch the ball, nobody was covering second base, so Grisez kept running.
The bizarre play set off a chain reaction of uncovered bases (the third baseman went to cover second, leaving third base open; the catcher went to cover third base, leaving home plate open) and an eventual play at the plate that most baseball fans have almost certainly never seen before.
Burns kept the ball in his glove during the whole play, eventually sprinting home, laying out and tagging out Grisez at the plate. Take a look at the madness:
Have you ever seen a center fielder tag someone out at home plate? Well here you go! pic.twitter.com/MORPFxt5Tp
— WOSN Sports (@WOSNScores) May 25, 2024
Burns turned on the jets and caught the runner in a bang-bang play at the plate. When the dust literally settled, the umpire ruled that the runner was out in one of the most bizarre baseball plays you'll ever see.
Ft. Recovery did go on to win the game, 11-3, but Burns' effort won't be forgotten anytime soon.
