Oklahoma’s Blake Robertson Risks Life and Limb to Catch Pop-Up, Which Was Totally Worth It

Every college baseball player dreams of making it to Omaha and doing something special in the World Series. For Oklahoma first baseman Blake Robertson, that opportunity came unexpectedly on the first pitch against Notre Dame last night. Chasing a pop-up near the dugout, it became clear that if he was going to make the catch, he was going to pay the price. But anyone who has watched this magnificent postseason tournament knows that most college baseball players are from the Eric Byrnes school of sacrificing their body. They’ll run through a wall. Then they’ll run through the next one.

Flipping over a railing and landing directly on one’s head seems like a fantastic way to get hurt. And not a worthwhile trade-off for securing only the first of 27 required outs. Thankfully there’s no time for such calculus when cleats are digging into dirt and the crowd is murmuring in anticipation.

Clearly the Sooners were inspired by the tremendous effort and Robertson’s ability to escape injury as they went on to win, 6-2.