Paul DeJong hit perhaps the wildest infield hit of the MLB season — and perhaps beyond that — thanks to legging out a batted ball that started way out in foul territory only to inexplicably spin back into the field of play.
The St. Louis Cardinals shortstop’s instincts and awareness shined through during his at-bat in the first inning of Tuesday’s 1-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants. Recognizing that the foul ball had some crazy English on it, DeJong knew there was a chance it could curve back into fair territory. And that it did.
Thanks to DeJong’s hustle, he legged out an incredible infield single, as he reached the bag before Giants first baseman Brandon Belt could make the play.
“I’ve seen that, but not to that degree,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said, via MLB.com. “That was unbelievable. You can’t do that on a pool table.”
Bochy’s observation that even the most skilled billiards player would not be able to pull off something like that on a pool table — even with unparalleled masse-shot skills — is spot on. Suffice to say, the Cardinals dugout went bonkers watching the surreal scene.
Cardinals manager Mike Shildt noted that it’s a rare instance indeed when a baseball spins wildly enough to cause it to go back into fair territory after being so far out of play, and he praised DeJong for being so alert.
“I appreciated Paul’s attention to that play,” Shildt said. “… I’ve seen it down the third-base line, and the guy just gave up on it — and a good player, guy that was always going to give effort. But Pauly was aware of it. Boom. Court awareness.”
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