McCormick’s catch was the shimmering gem, and the image may one day become iconic in Houston. With the Astros clinging to a one-run lead and one out in the bottom of the ninth (with super Phillie Bryce Harper on deck), J.T. Realmuto, the hero of Game 1, drove a ball into the outfield. McCormick, who had vowed to himself to be aggressive, ran about 30 yards toward right field, jumped at the base of the wall and extended his glove high over his head.
As he rose up like a basketball player going for a dunk — his own analogy — the ball descended toward his glove and disappeared as McCormick slammed into the scoreboard on the side of the wall. He bounced off it and landed spread eagle on his back on the warning track, with his glove on his right hand up in the air.
The catch was obvious to anyone watching on television, but for that instant, people in the stadium, many of whom were hundreds of feet away from the action, could not tell if he had caught it. In that moment, the stadium was at his command, and he loved it.
“Looking at them, it kind of like brought me back when I was 10 years old, when the Phillies lost in the World Series 2009,” McCormick said through his slight Philly accent, in a mixture of sympathy and joy. “It was weird. It felt like a dream when I was laying there, looking at those fans.”
The play was especially vital because, had McCormick not made the catch, Realmuto, who had an inside-the-park home run in a division series against Atlanta, would have been on second base, at least, with Harper ready to crush.
“It’s an incredible catch,” said Nick Castellanos, the Phillies right fielder who has had multiple defensive highlights of his own this postseason. “Also, his willingness to sacrifice his body, because that’s not exactly a soft wall.”
