Leody Taveras brought back memories of another Texas Rangers center fielder with an incredible catch on Wednesday.
Taveras had the defensive play of the ALCS in Game 3 when he climbed the wall in left-center to rob Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez of a home run in the sixth inning. Taveras looked almost like Peter Parker as he leapt high to take away the dinger.
LEODY TAVERAS ROBS A HOME RUN! #ALCS pic.twitter.com/HkCDT4JGsp
— MLB (@MLB) October 19, 2023
The fantastic web gem led to everyone doing the same thing on X — name-dropping former Rangers outfielder Gary Matthews Jr. and the astounding catch that Matthews made in center field back in 2006.
Gary Matthews Jr would be proud https://t.co/309ZrBbGnK
— Darren (@djohn90) October 19, 2023
LEODY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOLY GARY MATTHEWS JR.!!!!!!!!!!!!!
— Michael Kelminson (@mjk2341) October 19, 2023
Leody. My oh my.
Gary Matthews Jr. would be proud. #GoAndTakeIt pic.twitter.com/RBYObK8sCz
— Bryan Barrera (@_BryanBarrera_) October 19, 2023
Leody with his best Gary Matthews Jr impression
— EdEdd&Eddy (@_DillonDeWitt) October 19, 2023
For comparison, here is the video of Matthews robbing Mike Lamb of a homer over a decade-and-a-half ago.
July 1, 2006: Gary Matthews Jr with an absolutely absurd home run robbing catch. pic.twitter.com/GGauqkVCg0
— This Day In Sports Clips (@TDISportsClips) July 1, 2022
The parallels between the two catches are wild. Both were by a Rangers center fielder to take a homer away from an Astros lefty hitter. That little 180 that Taveras did to secure the baseball was also pretty reminiscent of Matthews (though Matthews’ catch probably still clears because of the elevation and overall fluidity).
Granted, Taveras’ catch didn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things since the Astros already had a three-run lead at the time. But Taveras made sure that Rangers fans at least had something to cheer about in Game 3 (on top of proving that Adolis Garcia is not the only Texas outfielder who can flash the leather).
