Yankees' Ryan McMahon channels Derek Jeter with tumbling catch over railing

McMahon has always been one of the better defensive third baseman in baseball, and he has accumulated 10.5 dWAR (via Baseball-Reference) in his career. That includes the 2021 season where he led the league with 2.1 dWAR. It's always been one of his biggest strengths, and it has helped make up for a bat that has not always played well outside of Coors Field. 

Is it better than the famous Derek Jeter catch?

If seeing a Yankees infielder tumble into the stands while catching a foul ball down the third base line against the Boston Red Sox looks familiar, it should.

That's because Hall of Fame shortstop Derek Jeter did something similar back on July 1, 2004 when he sprinted from his shortstop position and dove into the front rows of old Yankee Stadium.

You remember the play:

The argument in favor of the Jeter catch is that he covered way more ground in running from his shortstop position all the way over to the stands. 

But he also caught the ball away from the railing with his momentum carrying him over to dive into the stands. McMahon literally fell over the railing, head over heels, while making the catch. That is not to take away from Jeter's play, because it's also incredible. 

There is one big thing that might tip the scales in his favor — instead of being a random regular-season game, this was a winner-take-all elimination game in the playoffs. Stage matters. McMahon's play came on the significantly bigger stage.