By Matt Weiner (@MattWeiner20) – BSB Beat Reporter
If you sneezed or checked a text on your phone, you might’ve missed it.
The window of time to see Spartans’ catcher Omar Gastelum throw out a Trojan is the size of a wedding ring.
But don’t fret, it did happen five times, so the chances are if you missed it once, you’d still see it happen again.
It was an impressive statistical anomaly and was a bright spot for the Spartans as they were suffering a three-game sweep courtesy of USC.
Catcher versus stealing base runner is the most peculiar form of mano y mano that baseball has to offer. No other position has an opportunity to complete the same task.
However, for how unique the match up is, there is one factor that decides the winner: speed.
The ensemble goes at the speed of a lightswitch, which means that the mode of operation has to be simple and concise.
“Catch the ball, get rid of it.”
Two simple steps that flash through Gastelum’s mind when there’s an object dashing in his peripherals.
The masterclass began in the first inning of the first game on Friday, April 1, with Gastelum gunning down Rhylan Thomas for the first out of the inning and Tyresse Tuner for the final one.
“That’s something I’m trying to teach the guys, ‘it’s us versus them, who’s gonna be a bigger man, who’s better you or him?,’” said Gastelum.
Dominance from the jump was established, but it also helped take away two potential runners from reaching position for Spartans starting pitcher Jonathan Clark.
The biggest advantage is obtaining one of three outs while taking away a runner in scoring position. With a runner on second, small blips can turn into sizable catastrophes.
A bloop to right field all the sudden becomes an RBI single, a wild pitch brings a run 90-feet away from the plate and any error made in the field could bring in a run from second.
The most impressive of the five, comes from the third of the same aforementioned game.
Following Sunday’s loss, Spartans head coach Brad Sanfilippo was impressed that Gastelum was able to block a ball in the dirt then whip it over to second base.
In one fluid motion, Gastelum’s knees smoothly hit the deck while his mask gets ripped away from his face. From there his body silkily goes from picking the ball up to cock it behind his ear so he can slingshot it to second baseman Charles McAdoo.
It was the first time in 2022 a Spartans catcher threw out three base runners in the same game.
For a team that’s already more than doubled its win total from the previous year, having a player with a skill set like this stomps out many potential fires from starting. Furthermore, it continues a positive notion that runs will not be handed out like they were samples of teriyaki chicken at a mall. Rather, opposing teams will have to scratch and claw their way onto the scoreboard.
Improvements are coming, just one slingshotted runner at a time.