PHILADELPHIA – Eight minutes after performing the biggest play of my life, Chas McCormick crouched in the grass where he had dreamed of playing for most of his life.
The four Astros were doing post-game interviews in the stinky section of Citizens Bank Park, and McCormick was next to explain the wall-smashing catch that helped preserve the 3-2 win. Astros in Match 5 of the World Series in 2022. In between, he had about a solitary minute. afterward Justin Verlander, who started the day, went to congratulate him, and he stood up to accept a hug. Soon, half a dozen family members present caught his eye. He waved his hand. He glanced Phillies fans waiting to exit. After three nights of the pandemic, he noted the silence.
Never on a football field did he feel as close to crying as he could.
“I just felt like I was 12 years old,” McCormick said. “Being on the field, a quiet stadium, in my hometown, I was immersed in it all, trying to enjoy every second.”
With one in the ninth inning of Thursday, McCormick chased a JT Realmuto Drive to the school wall on the right. He timed his jump just right and caught what most here think would be a double, triple, or, with Realmuto’s results here, even an indoor run in the park. pellets.
Chas McCormick catches the ball OUTDOORS
Chas McCormick and Ryan Pressly’s impressive catch on Nick Castellanos sealed the Houston Astros’ 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies in game 5 of the World Series.
Instead of facing Bryce Harper with the forced run in the scoring position, the Astros get closer Ryan Pressly Meet him with only one to get. He hit Harper, but soon caused an incident from Nick Castellanos. Houston escaped bedlam with a 3-2 lead. They can become champions at home on Saturday.
The 5th half was full of chances, very few conversions. Both teams packed bases, but they combined for a 2 for 18 win with the runner-up in scoring. The splendid defense contributed to that fact. On the eighth day, Houston Trey Mancinifirst base play for the first time in four weeks, beat a Kyle Schwarber liner will force the game.
Mancini’s play is not the product of any thought, he noted. He didn’t have time to think.
“I have nothing going over my head,” he said. “I just deal with it, basically.”
Trey Mancini played great to give the Astros the lead
Trey Mancini played a tough game in the first game to give the Houston Astros a 3-2 lead over the Philadelphia Phillies. They won Game 5 of the World Series.
McCormick, too, relies on a childhood instinct to play basketball. Jumping because it feels like going up on a sled.
“Being able to time with the left foot,” he said, “I think basketball definitely helped me.”
Astros manager Dusty Baker said: “McCormick always brags about his basketball skills. I guess I have to believe him.”
For most of his sporting life, McCormick had to brag to get people to believe in him. Despite a decorated high school career in nearby West Chester, he had heard from several Division I schools. Instead, he played at Division II Millersville University of Pennsylvania. Only after his senior year did anyone arrest him.
At first, he couldn’t decide if Thursday’s arrest was, in his view, the best fight of his life. There is one university, he noted. Got one in the ALCS last year. But after enough questions about its historical significance, McCormick came up with the idea.
“One of the best catches I’ve ever made, hopefully in history,” he said. “And it would feel much better if we could get another win.”
The catch was so impactful it broke two rules regarding Chas Chomp, an Astros fan’s clapping motion started, and the team continued, to celebrate McCormick. In the past, the Astros only performed it when McCormick scored a big hit. After Thursday’s game, they did, though McCormick was their only starter not to score a hit or RBi.
And, in an even bigger protocol breach, Pressly got involved.
“I gave in,” he said.
The press spent the first half hour after the game repeating McCormick’s playthrough in his mind.
“I think I owe him a beer,” he said. “Or dinner.”
McCormick is an emotional player in a relatively strict squad. Several Astros noted his disappointment the previous Thursday. In two chances with an upperclassman, he failed to take a shot. He played on the field relatively hesitantly. But he ran fast when he saw an opportunity to redeem himself.
Pressly said: “He was aggressive when he caught the ball in the middle of the field.
Then he handles it. He was at home. He’s a hero. The Astros got their win by a margin of victory in the World Series, in large part thanks to a local boy who dared to dream.
Pedro Moura is the national baseball writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the Dodgers for The Athletic, Angels and Dodgers for the Orange County Register and LA Times, and his alma mater, USC, for ESPN Los Angeles. He is the author of “How to Beat a Broken Game.” Follow him on Twitter @pedromoura.
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