Austin Jackson's Spectacular Catch Earns Standing Ovation From Red Sox Fans
BOSTON (CBS) -- Red Sox fans know greatness when they see it.
That's why Cleveland Indians center fielder Austin Jackson received a standing ovation from the Fenway Park faithful on Tuesday night after taking away a home run from Sox slugger Hanley Ramirez.
Ramirez led off the bottom of the fifth for Boston by putting a charge in a Dan Otero offering and sending it to deep center field. Jackson sprinted toward the Boston bullpen in right center, timed his jump perfectly and snagged the would-be homer by Ramirez, grabbing the bullpen wall and tumbling over -- all while holding on to the baseball.
Red Sox fans were cheering for what they though was a homer, which would have brought Boston to within a run in the wild affair. Instead, Jackson emerged with the ball in his glove and those cheers quickly turned into stunned silence.
That was until the play was put under video review and replays were shown in the ballpark. Watching Jackson's acrobatic and amazing catch, Boston fans had no choice but to give the opposing player a standing ovation. The snag could go down as one of the best catches ever in Fenway Park's unusual outfield, though Jackie Bradley Jr. will likely have something to say about that.
Jackson's trip over the bullpen wall brought back memories of Torii Hunter's bid to take away David Ortiz's monumental grand slam in Game 2 of the 2013 ALCS against the Detroit Tigers.
Jackson's robbery of Ramirez may have been the play of the game -- and season, for that matter -- but the Red Sox got the last laugh, walking off with a 12-10 win on a Christian Vazquez three-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.
