ANAHEIM, Calif. – You’ve done something special when nine-time Gold Glove Award winner Torii Hunter, known for his acrobatic catches, says what you just made is “probably the greatest defensive play I’ve ever seen.”
Hunter praised this Los Angeles Angels‘ jo adele After the right fielder made three homer-robbing catches, a spectacular final leap was made, hitting the seats near the right field foul pole in the ninth inning. win 1-0 Above seattle mariners on Saturday night.
Hunter, the special assistant to the general manager who watched the game from the bench, said, “I’ve never seen three home run robberies in one game, and I’ve never seen a guy fall into the stands in the third game, grab the ball and put his feet in like he’s a wide receiver.” “I was jumping up and down. I almost passed out.”
Adell, who struggled on defense for several years before turning into a Gold Glove finalist in 2024, made a high jump over the yellow line over the wall in right field to deny the lead. cal raleigh A solo homer in the first inning and took almost identical catches to deny Josh Naylor In the eighth.
JP Crawford This was followed by a drive to the right-field corner in the ninth, where Adell raced to the ball, jumped to catch it, flipped over the low wall and fell into the first row of seats before getting his glove up to present the catch, which was upheld after replay review.
“After the first one, I was so excited,” Adele said. “When I got to the second one, which looked similar to the first, I thought, ‘Wow, my routes are right tonight.’ The third one was just harsh. Above the ninth, you have to complete it. This was madness.
“You just get there, then it’s a decision-making job. The ball was hit at a height that I could have got there. I saw it [into my glove]He fell and ended up in someone’s lap. I don’t know who it was, but it was a softer landing than I expected. The fans were as excited as I was.”
According to Inside Edge, Adele has had 10 home robberies since 2020, which is equal to kyle tucker of los angeles dodgers For most in the big leagues. Outfielders with the most home steals in the 2025 season jacob young of Washington Nationals And Fernando Tatis Jr. of San Diego Padres. Both had four.
It is believed to be the first time in baseball history that a player has hit three homers in a single game.
“It was like a scene out of a movie,” Hunter said of Adele’s third catch. “It was like the music was playing, then he caught the ball, then he went down and we didn’t see him again. The music stopped, he came up and said, ‘Yeah!’ I started cheering and almost fainted.”
Hunter, East minnesota twinsangel and detroit tigers The star has worked extensively with Adele on defense over the years.
“His impact has been huge,” Adele said. “It’s mental when you’re out there. It’s the mentality of getting the baseball, being aggressive. Early on, I got caught in the middle some games, and sometimes, that happens.
“When you make the mistake of being aggressive and trying to make plays, you’ll be surprised how many plays you make. Torey had that mentality all those years, he won all the gold medals.”
