Yunel Escobar started a double play in the fourth inning of Wednesday’s Tampa Bay Rays-Boston Red Sox game with a sweet behind-the-back play.
The Rays shortstop ranged to his left to field a Dustin Pedroia ground ball up the middle. Escobar’s momentum was taking him away from second, which would have made a throw difficult. So Escobar did the most logical thing: he wrapped his glove behind his back and flipped the ball to second baseman Ben Zobrist, who threw on to first for the double play after catching the ball with his bare hand.
That was just pretty. Escobar was so smooth on the play, fielding and flipping in one motion, and Zobrist complemented him with the barehanded catch and throw. The Rays won the game 5-1.
