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Umpire Gets Up Close and Personal to Make Sure Yankees Third Baseman Held Onto Catch

Stephen Douglas

An umpire checks on Oswald Peraza after he made a tough catch.
An umpire checks on Oswald Peraza after he made a tough catch. / @Yankees
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New York Yankees third baseman Oswald Peraza made a very tough catch in foul territory against the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night. And then he tripped and went headfirst over the tarp.

Rangers shortstop Josh Smith hit a towering fly ball that refused to get out of play, which allowed Peraza to settle under it right before he caught it and fell down. As an upside down Peraza's legs waved in the air, third base umpire Brock Ballou ran over to check to see—not if Peraza was O.K.—but to make sure he had held onto the ball.

Having determined he got both feet in and maintained control through the ground, he confirmed the out call and walked away.

Peraza, who turns 25 next month, has started 13 games at third base this season for the Yankees after only appearing in four games last year. The true key to more playing time this season is clearly doing things like this on a regular basis.

Oswald Peraza, New York Yankees
Oswald Peraza’s feet. / @Yankees

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Stephen Douglas
STEPHEN DOUGLAS

Stephen Douglas is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in media since 2008 and now casts a wide net with coverage across all sports. Douglas spent more than a decade with The Big Lead and previously wrote for Uproxx and The Sporting News. He has three children, two degrees and one now unverified Twitter account.

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