SI

Angels beyond the outfield: J.B. Shuck goes over the wall to rob Jose Bautista

[mlbvideo id="29371341" width="600" height="336" /] We’ve seen what Mike Trout and Peter Bourjos can do in the Angels’ outfield -- just ask J.J. Hardy -- but

Joe Lemire

Angels beyond the outfield: J.B. Shuck goes over the wall to rob Jose Bautista
Angels beyond the outfield: J.B. Shuck goes over the wall to rob Jose Bautista /

[mlbvideo id="29371341" width="600" height="336" /]

We’ve seen what Mike Trout and Peter Bourjos can do in the Angels’ outfield -- just ask J.J. Hardy -- but apparently robbing home runs is a skill for which techniques are imparted in a team manual, or so it would seem based on the work of leftfielder J.B. Shuck on Friday night.

In the fourth inning, Toronto’s Jose Bautista hit a fly to left that seemed destined to be a two-run homer until Shuck, who was waiting for the ball on the warning track, perfectly timed his leap to steal the ball from a fan and a dinger from Bautista as he crashed into the first row. (The fan didn’t seem to mind, given his aid in helping Shuck up off the ground and his hand-raising celebration.)

The advanced defensive metrics allege that Shuck, a 26-year-old who debuted for the Astros in 2011, is a below-average leftfielder, but he at least proved that he has a knack for the sensational.

shuck gif

Larry Brown Sports

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Joe Lemire
JOE LEMIRE

Staff Writer, Sports Illustrated Staff writer Joe Lemire is in his seventh year at Sports Illustrated and his fourth season covering baseball full time. Lemire writes features and analysis for SI and SI.com and is responsible for the website's weekly MLB Power Rankings. He has profiled Pirates star Andrew McCutchen and Braves rookie sensation Evan Gattis for the magazine. Lemire's penchant for covering America's pastime is to be expected considering his inspirations, Tom Verducci and Peter Gammons, are among the most well-known writers in the sport. Before his current role, Lemire spent his first three years with SI oscillating between baseball, college basketball, high school football and sports business. This came on the heels of a summer internship with the magazine in 2004 and a tenure as a stringer with SI: On Campus. Born in Richmond, Va., and raised in Lowell, Mass., Lemire graduated from the University of Virginia in 2005 with a B.A. in government and a minor in economics. Before joining SI he covered high school and college sports for the Daily News-Record in Harrisonburg, Va. He earned two Virginia Press Association awards for his work, one while a student writing at University of Virginia's Cavalier Daily and one at the Daily News-Record.

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