Baseball star’s attempted catch goes horribly wrong

Marcell Ozuna thought he was about to pull off the play of the year before things took a turn for the worse and his ego was destroyed.

So close, yet so far.

Spider-Man can climb tall buildings and while Marcell Ozuna managed to scale something slightly smaller the outcome wasn’t as successful as what the iconic superhero is used to.

The Major League Baseball star thought he’d put himself in position to pull off a miracle play but he only ended up with a face full of dirt and a heavily bruised ego for his troubles.

As St Louis played the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Cardinals outfielder set his sights on tracking down a fly ball he thought was heading for the bleachers. Enrique Hernandez hit the long ball at the top of the eighth innings and sent Ozuna on the hunt for the ball and a permanent place in MLB highlight reels.

The 28-year-old tracked back, fully expecting the ball to clear the field. He put his head down, ran towards the wall then jumped up and connected with his legs before wrapping his right arm around a horizontal beam to gain some stability.

There he was, perched in readiness like a hawk waiting for its prey. The only trouble was that prey had different plans than sailing straight into Ozuna’s waiting glove.

Realising he’d completely misjudged the flight of the ball, Ozuna dismounted from the wall with the grace of a three-legged mongoose in a desperate attempt to catch it before it landed well short of where he was expecting.

But instead of feeling the sweet slap in his hand, Ozuna fell first face into the dirt and missed everything. He couldn’t even see the ball, let alone lay a glove on it, as it bounced over him and into the stands while he lay on his stomach.

Marcell Ozuna with the catch of the year, no other competition pic.twitter.com/y4I6NySTFW

— Starting 9 (@Starting9) April 10, 2019

At least Ozuna could see the funny side though — as did his teammates. He was spotted re-enacting the scene with a couple of fellow Cardinals who, as they laughed hysterically, gave him a hug and patted the dust of the front of his jersey for him.

That’s what friends are for.

But the internet wasn’t so kind, mocking the St Louis star for his epic fail. Writing for American website Deadspin, Gabe Fernandez quoted Homer Simpson when offering up some words of wisdom.

“Here’s some advice from a hero of mine that should help Ozuna out in the future: ‘You tried your best, and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try’,” Fernandez wrote.

Barstool Sports also shredded Ozuna. “No one, and I mean absolutely no one, has ever had less of a read on a fly ball than Marcell Ozuna had on this one,” a column read.

When did the Cardinals sign Spiderman? pic.twitter.com/IgKfsUW5Bq

— Barstool Sports (@barstooltweetss) April 10, 2019

That play by Ozuna was about as bad a play by an outfielder as I’ve seen in a pretty long time.

Totally on the blooper reel. #stlcards #NotATimeToFly

— Tim Eby (@timjeby) April 10, 2019

Marcel Ozuna just made one of the worst attempts to catch a fly ball that I’ve ever seen. My dude scaled the wall only to have the ball land on the warning track. 😂😂😂 #TimeToFly

— Brandon Champion (@BrandonthaChamp) April 10, 2019

Ozuna style climbing the wall. Omg too funny. #dodgers #cardinals

— Steven C Miller (@stevencmiller) April 10, 2019

I will watch this Marcel Ozuna play over and over and over...until forever. It’s everything.

— Casey Stern (@CaseyStern) April 10, 2019

Originally published as Baseball star’s attempted catch goes horribly wrong