Twins' Ben Revere makes unbelievable catch

(CBS/AP) Over the past two decades, Twins center fielders have made some unforgettable catches.

In 1991, 5-foot-8 Kirby Puckett scaled the fence in left-center field to make one of the greatest catches in World Series history. Then in 2002, Torii Hunter took a homerun away from Barry Bonds with a gravity-defying leap in the All Star game.

On Monday night, Minnesota's rookie center fielder Ben Revere was playing on a decidedly less dramatic stage - but he may well have made a catch surpassing both Puckett's clutch grab and Hunter's acrobatic snag. Indeed, one could argue it's on par stylistically with Willie Mays' legendary catch in the 1954 World Series.

With two outs in the seventh, Baltimore's Vladimir Guerrero hit a ball to the deepest part of Target Field that looked to be at least an extra-base hit. Revere sprinted toward the center-field wall unsure of whether he would even have a chance to make a play on the ball.

As he got close to the wall, the 5-foot-9 Revere jumped toward the fence. As both feet hit the wall, he reached up with his glove. The ball landed in Revere's glove as it was up against the wall and he tumbled to the ground.

"I saw the way my glove ran into the wall and I bounced off," Revere said. "When I saw (Michael) Cuddyer and (Jason) Kubel, their jaws just dropped. ... I looked in to make sure it didn't come out. I was sort of like, I did! It didn't come out! Wow!"

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, who managed the acrobatic Hunter and was on the Twins coaching staff when Puckett started leaping above the soft Metrodome wall to take away home runs, was certainly impressed.

"That might be one of the best catches I've ever seen considering he ran 50, 60 yards to catch the ball," Gardenhire said. "And then all the way over his head and jumping into the wall. That's probably one of the best you're going to see."

It was an effort that was certainly appreciated by veteran Twins starter Carl Pavano.

"It's probably one of the best plays I've had behind me in my career," Pavano said. "That isn't an easy play at all, especially climbing the wall."

Revere, in his first full season in the majors, is known for his defense. The native of Lexington, Ky., is very speedy and can cover a lot of ground in the outfield. While this was Revere's 85th game this season for the Twins, this was easily his most memorable catch.

"To do that for the first time, it felt good," he said.