In Game One of the 2012 World Series there were two catches made by Gregor Blanco that were the best defensive plays of the game.
If you use time and distance you could give each of these plays a number that could be put into the boxscore.
When you listen to Tim McCarver on the audio he said “you could put a blanket on the distance” for each of these catches.
If we had FIELD/x technology available, we could measure the distance that Blanco ranged on each play.
Since that app is still not available let’s put an estimate on the distance that Blanco ranged. I’ll say it was about 65 feet.
On the first hit by Miguel Cabrera, Blanco had 3.12 seconds in which he ranged 65 feet.
Using Reaction Time over Range Distance as the formula, Blanco’s R/R would equal .048.
On the second hit by Prince Fielder, Blanco only had 2.68 seconds but he still ranged the same 65 feet. For this play Blanco’s R/R would be .041.
Each of these plays were memorable, but the second was really a better play, and the numbers will prove it.
Someday, maybe baseball will incorporate R/R plays under .050 in the boxscore.
Those would all be the great plays worth remembering.
