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Cubs OF Ian Happ Lays Out for Early Catch of the Year Contender

And he made this mind-boggling catch during his 1000th career game.

Madison Williams

Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Nate Pearson reacts to outfielder Ian Happ catching a ball.
Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Nate Pearson reacts to outfielder Ian Happ catching a ball. / Chicago Cubs/Screengrab
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Chicago Cubs left fielder Ian Happ submitted an early contender for catch of the year already during Saturday's game vs. the San Diego Padres.

In the top of the seventh inning, Padres pinch hitter Gavin Sheets crushed a line drive to left field. Happ rushed over towards the wall and somehow made it in time to catch the ball for an out. He flipped over on the ground until the wall stopped him from continuing his roll, but the ball ended up in his glove for the out.

Relief pitcher Nate Pearson, who saw Sheets as his first batter of the game, couldn't believe what he saw Happ do. He put his hands on his head and looked in disbelief.

It was fitting the three-time Gold Glove winner Happ would make this mind-boggling catch during his 1000th career game on Saturday.

It'll be hard to beat this play, but there's still a lot of the 2025 MLB season left.

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Madison Williams
MADISON WILLIAMS

Madison Williams is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where she specializes in tennis but covers a wide range of sports from a national perspective. Before joining SI in 2022, Williams worked at The Sporting News. Having graduated from Augustana College, she completed a master’s in sports media at Northwestern University. She is a dog mom and an avid reader.

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