One of the best baseball plays of the season was witnessed by fans who braved the bitter cold on Thursday night in New York to watch the Hudson Valley Renegades take on the Aberdeen Iron Birds, the High-A affiliates of the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles, respectively.
With two runners on and one out and behind by one in the top of the seventh, the Iron Birds looked dangerous. But Roc Riggio, the shortstop, made a fantastic play that allowed the Renegades to end the inning without suffering any more losses.
The Creed of Aberdeen A poor popup was hit by Willems into the shallow center. Just before he was hit by center fielder Nelson Medina, Riggio caught the ball, fell to the ground, and somehow managed to roll over on his back and flick the ball back toward the infield. Josh Moylan, the first baseman, doubled up the runner by stepping on the bag as he was covering second.
According to MiLB.com, Riggio stated, “My first instinct—my only instinct, really—was to go catch the ball.” “I was heading back, expecting for a call from someone to let me know they understood. Outfielders are trained to go down, and infielders are taught to go up for the ball. In my mind, all I could hope for was that [Medina] would fall, because if he did, I would definitely make the play.
“Go make the damn play and leave it all out there,” was all that was going through my mind.
MLB.com has Riggio, 21, as the Yankees’ No. 18 prospect in their organization. He was selected from Oklahoma State in the fourth round of the previous year’s draft.
A walk-off wild pitch later in the game gave the Renegades the victory.