Hunter Pence goes up the hill to fetch a Howard smash!

[Noe]

It was classic Hunter Pence attack the play defense.  No, this is not to criticize the kid, I come to honor him. Say what you will, and I have, about centerfield defense, the way to dominate Tal's Hill is to just take it.  It is not what you'd probably get from a natural centerfielder who is more prone to track a baseball, look for the wall and then prepare to scale the wall or lean up against it to make the catch (see: Mathews Jr, Gary).  In this occasion, Pence was the right man for the job out in center.  Tal's Hill is not going to move, it's not going to give way, so you take it without fear.  And he did.

He tracked the ball, then looked back to the hill and ran up it and then turned around to find the ball just as he was at the apex of said mound.  That is where he allowed the ball to settle nicely into his ragged old glove, while his other hand is resting against the flagpole.  Oh yeah, forgot to mention the flagpole... didn't I?  Any way, when Pence came back down, he told Scott that he lost the ball.  Well, he was right to do so, had he kept tracking that ball, he would've had his legs give way as the turf angle changed on him.  Craig Biggio once did a face splat trying to ignore the hill while tracking the ball.  Bad move.  Hunter did it right, forget tracking, run up the hill and then find the ball again.

Amazing display of fearless defense on the part of Hunter Pence.  For this play, I can't think of a better centerfielder to have go after the ball.  Nice going Thunder!

[rambo2]

That is about the 4th or 5th ball that he has caught up on the hill.  He goes up that hill better than anybody.

[JaneDoe]

Speaking of going up the hill----

I saw the replay of Berkman's over the shoulder catch going up the hill on Best Darn Sports Show's 50 Best Baseball Catches yesterday.  It was ranked pretty high, but #1 was Matthews catching Lamb's apparent HR last year.

Berkman sure was lithe and lean.

[Reuben]

Speaking of going up the hill----

I saw the replay of Berkman's over the shoulder catch going up the hill on Best Darn Sports Show's 50 Best Baseball Catches yesterday.  It was ranked pretty high, but #1 was Matthews catching Lamb's apparent HR last year.

Berkman sure was lithe and lean.

Speaking of Lance- the Rocks game the other day, where he tripled and homered...I was following on Gameday, and at one point he flied out to Taveras in CF. Gameday "marked" the location of the out just OVER the fence in dead center- implying that Willy scaled the hill, then reached over the fence to rob Lance of a HR. I didn't see any mention of this in the recap- was that anywhere near the truth?

[homer]

Speaking of Lance- the Rocks game the other day, where he tripled and homered...I was following on Gameday, and at one point he flied out to Taveras in CF. Gameday "marked" the location of the out just OVER the fence in dead center- implying that Willy scaled the hill, then reached over the fence to rob Lance of a HR. I didn't see any mention of this in the recap- was that anywhere near the truth?

on the hill, about half way up.

[Reuben]

Thanks. I try to take their pitch locations with a grain of salt as well.

[Fredia]

i was there the crowd was electric. it made espn over and over. maybe the boy can play after all

[Arky Vaughan]

It was classic Hunter Pence attack the play defense.  No, this is not to criticize the kid, I come to honor him. Say what you will, and I have, about centerfield defense, the way to dominate Tal's Hill is to just take it.  It is not what you'd probably get from a natural centerfielder who is more prone to track a baseball, look for the wall and then prepare to scale the wall or lean up against it to make the catch (see: Mathews Jr, Gary).  In this occasion, Pence was the right man for the job out in center.  Tal's Hill is not going to move, it's not going to give way, so you take it without fear.  And he did.

He tracked the ball, then looked back to the hill and ran up it and then turned around to find the ball just as he was at the apex of said mound.  That is where he allowed the ball to settle nicely into his ragged old glove, while his other hand is resting against the flagpole.  Oh yeah, forgot to mention the flagpole... didn't I?  Any way, when Pence came back down, he told Scott that he lost the ball.  Well, he was right to do so, had he kept tracking that ball, he would've had his legs give way as the turf angle changed on him.  Craig Biggio once did a face splat trying to ignore the hill while tracking the ball.  Bad move.  Hunter did it right, forget tracking, run up the hill and then find the ball again.

Amazing display of fearless defense on the part of Hunter Pence.  For this play, I can't think of a better centerfielder to have go after the ball.  Nice going Thunder!

He kind of reminds me of the Little Engine That Could.

[Duder]

Speaking of going up the hill----

I saw the replay of Berkman's over the shoulder catch going up the hill on Best Darn Sports Show's 50 Best Baseball Catches yesterday.  It was ranked pretty high, but #1 was Matthews catching Lamb's apparent HR last year.

Berkman sure was lithe and lean.

Didn't that play win him an ESPY for Play of the Year?

[Limey]

That is about the 4th or 5th ball that he has caught up on the hill.  He goes up that hill better than anybody.

The Moley Whore went up it backwards once.  That's hard.

[MikeyBoy]

My favorite 'hill' catch was Taveras' running catch in the 8th inning of the 05 NLCS Game 4, he just caught a piece of it (the hill), but he went a long way at a dead sprint and the ball was smoked, not much air under it.

http://houston.astros.mlb.com/multimedia/tp_archive.jsp?c_id=hou&ym=200510

[Houston]

Sing along...

The Pence went over the mountain
The Pence went over the mountain
The Pence went over the mountain
To see what he could catch.

[Noe]

The Moley Whore went up it backwards once.  That's hard.

And Beltran doesn't lose sight of the ball.  Why he is able to keep his balance with turf that shifts on you is beyond comprehension.  I think Pence's approach to the hill is correct, but it is not the best approach for a CFer position overall.  I've seen Pence in the minors and now in the majors put his head down and run and then lift his head back up to pick up the flight.  He seems to do better this way than running while tracking the ball.  He heads bobbs way too much when he tracks the ball.  Either way, he's a pleasure to watch attack a play.

[Craig]

And Beltran doesn't lose sight of the ball.  Why he is able to keep his balance with turf that shifts on you is beyond comprehension.  I think Pence's approach to the hill is correct, but it is not the best approach for a CFer position overall.  I've seen Pence in the minors and now in the majors put his head down and run and then lift his head back up to pick up the flight.  He seems to do better this way than running while tracking the ball.  He heads bobbs way too much when he tracks the ball.  Either way, he's a pleasure to watch attack a play.

When the inevitable Pence bobblehead doll is made, they should have the figure running at a dead sprint, looking up for the ball, with his glove outstretched.

[Col. Sphinx Drummond]

It was for the wrong team but Dave Roberts had one of the nicest catches I've ever seen on that hill. Up the hill and above the fence about 12 feet right of the pole, the shitbird pulled it back in.

[Phil_in_CS]

did you see Pence and Howard yesterday, after Pence's single? Howard was giving him no end of good natured grief about something, likely about that catch

[mihoba]

It was for the wrong team but Dave Roberts had one of the nicest catches I've ever seen on that hill. Up the hill and above the fence about 12 feet right of the pole, the shitbird pulled it back in.

Yep, that's the one I remember as being the best.

[JackAstro]

One of my favorite moments on the hill was from Glen "Feets Don't Fail Me Now" Barker, when he sprinted up the hill, vaulted the wall and stood completely out of the field of play as a homer soared a good 20 feet over his head. On his list of signature "what the fuck are you doing?" moments, this was near the top for me.