You would have to be living under a rock if you didn't hear about Chicago Whitesox outfielder Dewayne Wise's super-catch that helped preserve his teammate Mark Buehrle's perfect game last Thursday. The circumstances under which Wise robbed the home run ball are incredible, considering he had just entered the game. Scott Merkin of MLB.com provides a great rundown of the play that will live on in infamy for not only Sox Fans, but for all sports fans.
Dwight Clark, Joe Montana and the San Francisco 49ers should not take offense to the following statement.
But "The Catch" now has a new video clip attached to it, at least in the athletic world on the South Side of Chicago.
White Sox outfielder Dewayne Wise is the proud owner of the nickname after making arguably the greatest catch in the proud history of the franchise. Here's the reason for such an assessment.
When Wise went over the center-field fence at U.S. Cellular Field on Thursday to snag Gabe Kapler's bid for a home run to open the ninth inning, it was the first play of the day for the defensive replacement who entered in the ninth. Wise then juggled the ball after he snow-coned the catch and was falling, grabbing it barehanded before the baseball hit the ground.
Then, there's the little matter of Wise's permanent addition to the highlight reel preserving Mark Buehrle's perfect game -- the 18th one thrown in Major League history. So, Wise's hero status checked in just below Buehrle's against the Rays.
Judging by the 10 interviews Wise has done around the country since the last out Thursday, people certainly recognize his impact on history. On Friday, though, Wise went from superhero back to reserve for the start of a four-game series against the Tigers at Comerica Park.
While all the high-quality replays have been removed from YouTube (due to the heavy policing efforts of MLB Advanced Media), I was able to find a fan's version that captured the historical catch (albeit it is quite shaky).
This play shows that as a backup, you have to be ready to go at any moment. When the ball was hit, Wise knew he had to make the catch. That's exactly what he did under a tremendous amount of pressure. Kudos to Wise for preparing himself mentally to enter a game of this magnitude and then save the day when all eyes were on him. And, while Wise had the biggest play of the game, Buehrle had the best game, a game that will be recorded in the annals of history.
