Over the weekend, the St. Paul Saints hosted the Winnipeg Goldeyes on the occasion of St. Paul’s 25th anniversary in independent baseball. They officially celebrated on Sunday, but had a whole weekend of festivities planned, including bringing back old players like Kevin Millar (more on him in a bit).
The good vibes were paying off over the four game series, as the Saints entered yesterday’s game looking for a sweep. Tim Colwell, hoping to add to a lead in the bottom of the fifth, seemingly kept his at-bat alive, fouling off a the pitch, but Goldeyes catcher Mason Katz made a ridiculous play to catch it after it had initially glanced off his glove.
Videos by VICE
Somehow he managed to swipe his glove backwards and snag the ball out of the air at a not-at-all convenient angle. Colwell’s reaction to the play, in which he drops his bat in stunned disbelief is rivaled only by Katz’s, in which he saunters back to the dugout with the shit-eatingest grin you’ve ever seen.
That play was crazy enough, but now we turn our attention to Kevin Millar, who at the age of 45 suited up for the Saints one last time on Saturday and performed his own incredible feat. Millar was an original member of the team, starting his career with the Saints in 1993 before joining the Major Leagues as a replacement player during the 1994-1995 strike season. To celebrate the anniversary, the Saints brought him back for one at bat at designated hitter and he smoked a dinger to left field.
It was a no-doubter and everyone—the skipping Millar, the dejected pitcher, the insanely loud play-by-play man—knew it was gone. Millar’s two-run blast helped spark a comeback, and the Saints won Saturday’s game 8-6. On Sunday, despite Katz’s dexterity, the Saints finished off the sweep with a 5-4 win thanks to a walk-off home run in the 11th inning.
