With nice hops comes nice duty.
Crimson Sox prospect Will Turner submitted his entry for the catch of 2026 after scaling the fence of Delta Dental Park at Hadlock Subject in Portland, Maine, to make a wild dwelling run theft on Saturday night time.
Within the third inning of the Portland Sea Canines’ Double-A recreation in opposition to the Studying Fightin Phils, left fielder Raider Tello despatched a deep fly ball to left-center area that appeared destined to clear the wall.
Then, in a maneuver befitting of a Marvel movie, Turner raced to the warning observe, timed his leap completely and clung to the wall to make the jaw-dropping seize.
“I’d say I’m a giant Spider-Man man,” Turner mentioned postgame, per MLB.com. “Each time I do one thing like that, I simply consider Bo Jackson when he ran on the wall for Kansas Metropolis.
“As a child, I form of did stuff like that rising up and I really feel prefer it form of simply took me again just a little bit, so it was actually cool.”
Turner, who turns 24 subsequent month, revealed that his dramatics had really been years within the making.
Chosen within the seventh spherical of the 2024 MLB Draft by Boston, the College of South Alabama product revealed that he has routinely practiced making dwelling run robberies — to no avail till Saturday’s sparkler.
“Effectively, you understand what’s loopy is I’ve really — in school — tried it just a few occasions however I by no means caught one,” Turner added. “I’d both mistime it or the ball could be just a little too far. I practiced it just a little bit and I really feel prefer it was most likely the proper ball to do it on.”
The catch drew speedy comparisons to different nice catches, most notably Athletics outfielder Denzel Clarke, who additionally did his greatest Spider-Man impression final season.
Dealing with the Angels in Anaheim, Clarke pursued a deep flyball hit by Nolan Schanuel and, very similar to Turner, scaled the wall — and almost fell over to the opposite facet — as he got here down with the ball.
Whereas Turner’s .190 common at Double-A leaves loads to be desired, he has registered a strong .375 on-base proportion to go along with 14 homers and 32 RBIs.
However on Saturday night time, after going 1-for-3 on the plate in Portland’s 5-2 loss, it was Turner’s glove that put the highlight on him.
“That catch that Denzel Clarke made was unimaginable, and I used to be like, ‘That appears actually cool, I’d love to try this,’ Turner mentioned.
“And I made it occur tonight. So it was positively a very particular second.”
