Portland Sea Dogs left fielder Will Turner made a spectacular home run robbery on Saturday night at Delta Dental Park, scaling the outfield fence to prevent a potential extra-base hit. The improbable play occurred in the third inning of the Double-A game against the Reading Fightin Phils.
Turner, a prospect in the Boston Red Sox organization, raced to the warning track as a deep fly ball was hit to left-center field. He then timed his leap, climbed the wall, and secured the catch in a move that drew immediate comparisons to Spider-Man.
"I would say I'm a big Spider-Man guy," Turner said after the game, per MLB.com. "Every time I do something like that, I just think of Bo Jackson when he ran on the wall for Kansas City. As a kid, I kind of did stuff like that growing up and I feel like it kind of just took me back a little bit, so it was really cool."
Selected by the Red Sox in the seventh round of the 2024 MLB Draft, Turner, who turns 24 next month, revealed that he had practiced such plays in the past without success. "Well, you know what’s crazy is I’ve actually — in college — attempted it a few times but I never caught one," Turner added. "I would either mistime it or the ball would be a little too far. I practiced it a little bit and I feel like it was probably the perfect ball to do it on."
The catch has drawn comparisons to other notable outfield grabs, including one by Athletics outfielder Denzel Clarke last season. Turner, who was batting .190 with a .375 on-base percentage, 14 home runs, and 32 RBIs in Double-A this season, was 1-for-3 at the plate in the Sea Dogs' 5-2 loss. However, it was his defensive play that garnered significant attention.
"That catch that Denzel Clarke made was incredible, and I was like, ‘That looks really cool, I’d love to do that,’ Turner said. "And I made it happen tonight. So it was definitely a really special moment."
