TORONTO – Like most of the 37,445 fans in attendance at Rogers Centre Sunday, Nicholas Castellanos thought there was a pretty good chance he had homered.
“It had a chance,” Castellanos said. “I hit it well.”
Well enough to send Preston Guilmet’s pitch 395 feet to straightaway centre-field at 100 m.p.h., but not so well that Kevin Pillar was content to stand and watch.
Instead, the Blue Jays centre-fielder turned and started sprinting back and to his right. He had a long way to run if he had any chance of tracking this ball down. Realizing he’d also have to jump to make a play, he slowed almost imperceptibly as he reached the warning track. But Castellanos had hit it so far that even a jump wouldn’t be enough, so Pillar planted his right foot midway up the centre-field wall, pushed off and reached.
That combination of athleticism and improvisation resulted a catch that ranks among Pillar’s best ever.
“A lot of stuff like that just comes down to pure instinct,” Pillar said. “If I’m trying to get over something that I physically can’t get over, you’ve got to find a way to do it.”
Impressed, Castellanos raised his arms above his head and clapped – a gesture of sportsmanship and respect.
“He’s a heck of a centre-fielder,” Castellanos said. “They call him Superman here in Toronto for a reason.”
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Pillar appreciated the gesture from a player he has gotten to know over the years.
“As much as there’s competition during the game, I think all baseball players understand the small fraternity we’re in,” Pillar said. “There are certain guys on every team that you just form a cordial relationship with and more than anything, I think game respects game and he’s got a ton of game out there.”
Home run-robbing catches are rare in Toronto because the walls are too high for outfielders to pull balls back with any frequency. Pillar made a similar catch in left field in April of 2015 and Rajai Davis robbed a home run in August of 2012, but these catches don’t happen often.
“It really just takes the perfect scenario as far as height and where I’m positioned in order to get myself under control,” Pillar said. “If I’m running full-speed, it’s an extremely difficult play to make, but if I can track the ball, track the wall and start sizing that leap up, it’s something that can be done. It’s more instinctual than something that’s practised or rehearsed.”
Pillar’s teammates certainly appreciated the catch, greeting him as he ran toward the third-base dugout after the inning ended. Even on the other side, there was plenty of appreciation for the play Pillar made.
“He’s a special player,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. “That was amazing. It’s a long run, (and) to climb the wall like that and make that play, the timing of it, that just tells you how special of an athlete he is. Unfortunately it cost Nick another home run, but wow – sometimes it’s more special to see something like that.”
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Even after completing the catch, Pillar’s work wasn’t done. He threw the ball to the infield, aware that the Tigers had a runner on second base. Eventually, though, he’ll get the chance to watch the play for himself.
“It’s kind of an out-of-body experience,” Pillar said. “You just don’t even really get to appreciate that you’re the one doing it. I’ll probably get the chance to go home and sit down and watch it and view it from everyone else’s standpoint and I’ll probably be pretty impressed with what I was able to do out there.”
Everyone else was certainly impressed.
“What can you say at the end of the day besides what a play,” Castellanos said. “It sucks it had to happen to me, but plays like that have to happen to somebody.”
Pillar’s catch cost Castellanos a home run, so perhaps he can repay him in another way. As Castellanos noted, “He owes me a beer.”
