Seattle Mariners outfielder Jesse Winker is definitely one with the classics.
Winker made a game-winning play in left field during Friday’s game against the Minnesota Twins. In the bottom of the ninth inning with the tying run standing on first base, Twins DH Gary Sanchez lofted a fly ball towards the fence. The ball died on the warning track though, and Winker made a nice catch to seal the 2-1 victory for Seattle.
https://twitter.com/MrMatthewCFB/status/1512568868996370448
Even Sanchez thought that it was gone and prematurely flipped his bat.
Gary Sanchez thought he hit a Walk off lmaooo pic.twitter.com/rqsP5cVxsA
— jw (@jwmedia12) April 8, 2022
After the game, Winker was asked by Mariners reporter Shannon Drayer what was going through his head while that ball was in the air. He responded by dropping a reference for the ages to “The Sandlot.”
#Mariners LF Jesse Winker to @shannondrayer on the @SEASports710 walkoff interview about what he was thinking as he made the game-ending catch at the wall: "Scottie Smalls, please catch it, please catch it."
— Brent Stecker (@BrentStecker) April 8, 2022
The All-Star slugger Winker was quoting the famous scene where Smalls proves himself to the local kids by making a catch in left field.
It is unclear if Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez had a hand in dropping the ball right into Winker’s glove during Friday’s game. But Winker is just one of many “Sandlot” aficionados that exist in Major League Baseball today.
