The old cliché says that every time you go to the ballpark, you’ll see something you haven’t seen before. That was certainly true for fans at Saturday’s Triple A game between the Syracuse Mets and Buffalo Bisons.
In the bottom of the third, Buffalo pitcher Paxton Schultz threw a slider that got away from him and ran inside on Syracuse first baseman Luke Voit. Voit tried to hop out of the way but the pitch was too far inside for him to avoid. As he instinctively dropped his front elbow to protect his ribs, he actually caught the ball between his elbow and torso.
✅ Luke Voit
— Syracuse Mets (@SyracuseMets) July 22, 2023
✅ Theme jersey
✅ Hijinks
He catches a pitch… while batting #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/FqTBmcSN9U
What are the odds of that? Voit certainly wasn’t trying to pin the ball against his body but somehow still managed to do it perfectly.
And despite how cool it was—and how much it must have hurt to get hit by an 83 mph pitch—Voit played it off like it was nothing. He just nonchalantly handed the ball to the catcher.
Voit is trying to get back in the big leagues after getting cut by the Brewers in June. He’s been crushing the ball for the Mets’ top affiliate, with nine homers in 30 games. But nothing he’s done in Syracuse has been as cool as what he did on Saturday. Well, maybe except for rocking a sleeveless jersey.
