Over the wall or down the line: Toughest plays in baseball (1-5)

5. Into the Stands
There comes a time when every infielder must make that scary transition from the security of the playing fields into the chaotic, and sometimes hostile, atmosphere of the stands. Failure results only in a foul ball, but a real player will put his body on the line to make a crucial out any day of the week. These plays are as equally challenging and scary as catchers and other infielders who wander into dugouts and camera booths; neither have been designed for the safety of a man charging over 3-4 the foot wall.

4. Shortstop in the hole
Patented by Derek Jeter, but before he was leading the Yankees to titles a skinny man named Omar was making ridiculous off-balanced throws of his own. While Vizquel has alwats taken heat for not being an offensive threat (and at times even a liability) he has on countless occasions tracked a ball down to his right and all the while anticipating the need to make the difficult throw to first. Both of these men excel at what they do and have inspired countless youngsters to continually practice making the play from the outfield grass in left.

3. Third baseman down the line
Not to be out done says Scott Rolen! Once compaired to the other great Phillie 3B, Mike Schmidt (who never receives enough recognition for his work with his glove), Rolen perfectly executes the "run, backhand the hard groundball, then hurl it in the exact opposite direction in which you are going" play. Sometimes a player will have enough time to plant his feet and fire but its far more entertaining to watch a third baseman do a spin/leap/catapult-esque throw that is just in time to catch the startled hitter who was probably already thinking double. A combination of arm strength and an above average ability to make a quick ball transfer (essential for most infield plays) are required to make this challenging and aesthetically pleasing play.

2. Over the wall
...and through the padding, to sportscenter's top 10 we go. Sorry, got carried away there. Ever heard of a man called Fred Lynn? Well way before Gary Matthew's robbery of Mike Lamb (which can only be matched by the play where the Japanese guy literally climbs the 10 foot high wall), Lynn was crashing into posts and teammates as he robbed countless hitters of home runs and extra base hits. For our purposes "running into wall at full speed" can be considered a lesser, but still significant subset of this category of plays. But the toughest part is the not the danger, its the perfection of timing. After running your ass off to get to the wall, you must now jump at precisely the right moment to snag that ball before its out of reach.

1. Over the shoulder
If you don't have one of those "o shit i got to catch this cause nobody else will" moments as soon as this ball is hit, you're not going to grab it. Frankly these plays are not as fun to watch but they are the most difficult play to make by an player on the fielder. These plays are usually witnessed in centerfield, either by a SS or 2B tracking down a flare (these balls are sometimes down the line too) or a centerfielder just flat out showing off. The only time I've seen a first baseman make this play was by Donny baseball (Don Mattingly) who went straight up the line, made the catch and then immediately turned around to find the runner on third trying to sneak home (needless to say Mattingly threw him out at the plate). So why exactly is this play so hard? You have to run at full throttle while watching a ball that's behind your back and then be able to either stop running or dive at precisely the right moment (there's no time to spin around, you've gotta make this play with your back to the catcher).

Top 3 plays involving going behind the back (no order):
Jim Edmonds: This guy has made this play so many fucking times I'm ready to get down and start worshiping him. (Ok maybe that's a little far, but he's still damn good at what he does) The most spectatular play was when he went straight back and flung his body parallel to the ground and amazingly caught the ball. How the hell he pulled that play off I'll never know.
David Wright: The barehand play is raved about by every Met fan I have ever met (and even some non-Shea lovers). Sadly I have never seen this play in its entirety, only snipits from several of sportscenter's montage. I will allow this play in merely because it combines this style of catch with the barehand clause, but if you are reading this and have seen the play PLEASE FIND ME A COPY!
Willie Mays: "The Catch" will forever be remembered as the first (and possibly greatest) Web Gem caught on video. Take Mattingly's play: put in the outfield, double the distance he had to run, double the distance he had to throw the ball back in, and then infinitely increase the magnitude of the catch because of the setting.

One final play I want to discuss (because I'm a Yankees fan and because I was at this game): Derek Jeter's "play of the year" (awarded by Baseball Tonight) in 2005 was the greatest play I have ever witnessed live and I am still amazed when I see it from all the other camera angles. This play gets the half-credit point for over the back, full credit for in the stands, and further points for the timing of the play: 12th inning of a game against the Red Sox in a pennant race.