Joe Panik made the defensive play of the game for the Giants in their Game 7, World Series-clinching win over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.
The 23-year-old second baseman made a diving stop up the middle on a sharp grounder by Eric Hosmer, then did a backhanded flip to shortstop Brandon Crawford, who threw to first to get the double play.
Making a diving stop and keeping the ball on the infield was impressive enough, but Panik upped the ante by making a perfect flip with his glove to get the out. Though Hosmer was initially called safe at first, he was declared out on review.
To give you a taste of how huge that play was, consider that the Royals would have had men on first and third with nobody out against Jeremy Affeldt in a 2-2 game in the bottom of the third. Thanks to the double play, they had the bases empty and two out for Billy Butler, who grounded out to end the inning. The Giants did not allow a run the rest of the game.
Below is a video of Panik talking about his play:
The same thing happened the next inning; Panik started a double play to end the fourth as well, though it was considerably less difficult:
