As a young teenager, I witnessed Clemente throw out a runner tagging from third from the right field corner at 3 Rivers Stadium. Too old to recall the team, but was amazed at the accuracy. He was the best ever!
I've never actually seen him play I was born way after he died but I've seen videos of him throwing out people at like 3rd or home without even shuffling he's is truly amazing
I saw Clemente in Forbes Field do the same thing. His arm was outstanding. Plus the stadiums had deeper outfields and he still threw strikes to home plate from the warning track. He was also just a great human. Still my favorite athlete of all time.
@@bingster-223 I’m 62 saw him play at Forbes 4-5 time and 3 rivers the same I’m a Pittsburgh fan thru and thru Mostly I saw him keep people from getting what should been doubles into singles, and keeping people from going from first to third on singles or holding people from scoring from first on a two out double in the gap In Forbes field that was an accomplishment No one ever threw anyone out at home from the outfield wall at Forbes field , ever. Clemente was probably the best defensive right fielder ever But even he couldn’t do that. Overstated after the fact.
José Guillen at 1:59 is one of my favorites plays of all time from the outfield. I bombed one like that from the warning track in rf back in high school holding the guy at 2nd and I remember seeing people’s faces afterward lol All Coach said was “that was a hell of a throw you made to 3rd” One of my favorite memories in high school baseball ⚾️ 💪🏼
I gunned a guy from center on a base hit up the middle. The dude was trying to score from second. My throw was half way up the third baseline but it was an absolute dart. The catcher almost missed the tag but made a great catch and tag. That feeling you get when you throw someone out from the outfield could be the best feeling in all of sports. Hitting home runs are awesome but gunning someone out at the plate is just special.
@Erich Von Manstein no need to get personal, or nasty....and yes, I not only saw Mays, and believe him to be the greatest all around player of all time, I met Mays in the street in NYC in 1980 and still have his autograph. Know it all.
Dwight Evans had some great throws in his fine career. Mays had some amazing throws, especially early in his career when he played in the Polo Grounds and the center field fence was in a different time zone from home plate.
"Clemente could field the ball in New York and throw out a guy in Pennsylvania." - Vin Scully I think Vin Scully knew baseball- having worked 67 years as a broadcaster= almost 10,000 games. They DID run in him and he threw most of them out! Roberto Clemente had 266 Outfield ASSISTS in 18 years. No modern day player comes close to that. All the other guys near Clemente in MLB outfield assists All Time...rode horseback. Hank Aaron had 201, then Willie Mays tied with Yaz at 195. Look it up.
Never forget the throw from deep right field to Home plate in the 1960 Series. The catcher just stood there in front of the plate and the throw went right into his glove. Forcing the runner at 3rd to reconsider trying to make it to Home even though he was already 1/2 way there. I considered Roberto Clemente the best all around player in baseball. I always wished I had his arm.
And nobody even puts Aaron in the discussion for the strongest arm or shall i say most capable. Strength has little to do with it. Footwork, catching, transferring and release all come into play before strength does and once the application of strength comes to play then accuracy does. Clemente was the best. Aaron is second but not a single list or video seems to give a crap about Aarons existence as anything but baseball fly swatter.
The most amazing thing about these throws is that they were done on the run, or else off the wall. No "wind up" involved. I have completely changed my opinion about the skills of outfielders. And Vinnie....of course. I grew up with that guy's voice.
Love that you’ve included older video clips. While I really enjoy seeing these newer clips that are crystal clear, there’s just something about seeing those older clips and almost having to rely on the excitement of the announcer’s voices to put it all together.
When I was a kid, I saw the Mets play the Pirates, at Shea Stadium. I sat a few rows back, in the right field section. A ball was hit and reached Roberto Clemente, on one bounce. A runner on second, was given the sign to head for home. Clemente was at the back edge of the grass, it seemed he put his entire body into the throw, which reached the catcher, on the fly, just in time to throw the runner out. One of the most awesome things I've ever seen.
I remember another one in the same game. Nobody get outsted, but his throw to home literally freezed the runner in third base, who desisted to run to home. Parker was the king of the left field in the late seventies.
These were awesome. The fact the Ichiro isn’t a part of this is mind-boggling. I was an A’s full season ticket holder and saw him make several plays from right field to 3rd base to nail Oakland A’s in the years he came into the Coliseum. What an Arm!!!
When I coached I used to use Ichiro's throws as an example to the players. He did use perfect technique with his crow hop. He definitely got some velocity for such a small guy.
Agree 100%. Those brain-dead local sports producers usually only show home runs when they have baseball highlights. Great defensive plays are much more exciting IMO.
I'm so happy that Joe Ferguson's throw from right field to nail Sal Bando at the plate in the '74 W.S. was included. He delivered a 300' strike, right on the money at Yeager's knees, right in front of the plate. All Yeager had to do was catch the ball and brace for impact.
I watched that game from K.C. Reynolds was the winning run, I think it was the 9th or 10th inning. 3 hours I watched that game, and thought, "damn, Royals lost". Then my jaw dropped. It was the most amazing play I've ever witnessed live. Baseball was fun in K.C. when Bo was there. Royals won the game in 11.
Harold Reynolds said he jumped on Bo’s back before the next days game in playful anger. Bo pointed to his flexed right arm and said to Reynolds, “D-d-don’t run on th-this.” (for those too young, Bo actually struggled with a stutter often when he was younger)
Wow! I've never been a sports person but this is amazing, the mechanics behind these epic throws is fascinating, it's great because you can tell these guys aren't just throwing that ball with their arm, they put their entire body into those throws
That;s the trouble with WAYYYYY too many vids of recent years ..... they do not have videos of players before roughly 1975. It is just a fact. I was listening on the radio, probably a 1963 game or so, Yaz had begun his career in 1961 as Sox LFer. At Baltimore. A runner on first. Batter hit a medium hard double into LF corner at Memorial Stadium. Yaz per announcer had been playing batter in left cenrter. By the time he got to ball IN the corner, the runner was at least halfway tween 2nd and 3rd, probably closer to 3rd. Yaz threw a bullet ON THE FLY to catcher and GOT THE RUNNER. At first there was a hush in the crowd, then they erupted in cheers.
@@VrgniaMailman Someone remembers Yaz and appreciates him. Me and my dad were lucky I grew up watching Yaz and my dad grew watching Ted. One of the lesser known statistics in baseball is 40 yrs left field in Fenway was covered by just two players Ted and Yaz. You will never see that again.
you're really on crack if you think he bobbled a ball to deke a runner to throw him out. but then again that's the first thing they teach you in little league so you might be right
I remember Tony Scott playing for the Expos in 1975 catching what looked like a home run at the base of the wall at Jarry Park in Montreal which was 420 feet from home plate, he turned around and in one motion threw as hard as he could and the ball when directly to the catcher in the air (the runner had tagged at third) the runner slide under the tag and was safe, but that was an incredible throw 420 feet on a line to the catcher.
@@axelkyster2642 look closely at the throw at about 2:00 in the video. That is 375ft deep and with simple geometry you can calculate that he threw nearly 400ft. Still beat the runner. I also want to mention that if you knew physics you would understand that the ball, thrown from 390-400 feet away from third base, at and angle of 20 degrees with a speed of 100mph (yes, outfielders do throw this fast) would arrive in 3.1 seconds. The average 90ft split for a mlb player is 4 seconds or more. That is physics.
They always leave of the throw Charlie Moore of the Milwaukee Brewers made from rough field top throw out Reggie Jackson when he was playing for the California Angels in game 5 of the '82 playoffs. It was a perfect throw from deep right field all Reggie could do was stand up and salute Charlie.
I remember watching that Parker to Carter throw live when I was a kid and I thought that I would never see anyone with an arm like Parker's ever again.
Longest throw I've ever seen from a major leaguer was made by Paul Dade when he was playing right field for the Cleveland Indians in 1977. In the old Municipal Stadium he fielded a ball hit down the line in right field. He caught up to it in foul territory in the right field corner and promptly threw the most amazing line drive at least 10 or 12 rows deep into the seats behind 3rd base. Dude had a cannon for an arm, with absolutely no control.
As a Canadian watching in the 70's, 80's and 90's , we were treated to some of baseball's greatest arms as Expos and Jays; Andre Dawson, Ellis Valentine, Vladdy Guerrero Sr. and Jesse Barfield. One of the alltime best arms was Dave Winfield ( pity that poor seagull that basically exploded at Exhibition Stadium ) , but he was a DH by'92.
@@claudeciancio1933 The runner was a 3rd of the way to 3rd when Ichiro got the ball & he nailed him with a literally perfect strike. He also made another great throw from the RF corner with the runner having a full head of steam around 3rd.
@@nobodyaskedbut Watch this: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-WYAxk01E404.html Freeze the video at :45. The runner is not nearly 1/3 of the way to 3rd and you can see just how shallow Ichiro is. Nice throw, yes, but the title of the video is "MLB longest outfield throws" This throw simply, undeniably does not qualify.
@@Joe26003 That's a really good question. I've been around baseball for 35 years, and I have seen guys that can't catch a cold, but if you run on them, lights out. Makes me shake my head, but nothing beats an outfield assist!
Willie Mays' famous catch of 1954 was in deep center field and was followed by a quick throw back to the infield. There was no out made other than the catch, but the half-inning would eventually with the bases loaded an no runs scored.
All of you younger fans are justifiably proud of many of today's players. But for last few games of 1972 season, and all of 1973, the Red Sox had the three best arms combined in one outfield unit ever. Carl Yastrzemski in LF, the CANNON Reggie Smith in CF, and a very young Dwight Evans in RF. I think most Red Sox fans of that time would agree that Yaz had the best overall arm of the 3 for a combo of power and accuracy, but for pure power, it was Reggie. I once saw him throw out an Indian on a GROUND BALL single to CF and fast runner on 2nd tried to score. From roughly 230 feet out (estimate, Reggie had charged the ball), Reggie threw a frozen rope RIGHT on line to catcher, no hop, and the ball never got more than 9 feet off the ground!!!! The appreciative Sox fans gave him a well deserved standing ovation.
Another fun thing about Clemente: as good a hitter as he was, he had horrible form. He and Hank Aron both would swing and their back leg would kick off the ground. But he managed to get exactly 3,000 hits before the plane crash. That plane was never found.
The reason you don't see any Clemente throws in this video is not so much that people didn't run on him, it's because when Clemente was playing Pittsburgh was a dead zone, unlike media centers like New York or LA. Very few games were televised in Pittsburgh, so a lot of Roberto's great throws aren't on film.
I remember a center fielder named Jim Piersall, (he played for the Cleveland Indians in the early 60's) threw one all the way from deep center to home and stopped an in the park HR.
Enjoyed this. Especially vlad and Cespedes. But where's Ichiro? I remember a couple of warning track bullets and other gems from him. Parker was great to see again too
What I love about baseball is that, while pitching and hitting may not be entirely, defense is timeless. Guys from the 70s, and 80s would be as good with today's hitters. Because the strength and skill building for fielding and throwing has changed little.
I wonder if the reason you don't see any Clemente and Mays material here is because both played before in the era before stations preserved videotape of games.
I remembering watching a Pirates game with a friend who was a huge fan. Parker cannoned his throw home. My friend stood up and said "You NEVER challenge Parker's arm! NEVER! You NEVER challenge it!" By the way we were around 6 or 7 years old. :-)
Running on Dave Parker was not advised... He may have some health issues these days, but in his heyday his arm was a cannon.... This is a darn good video of some great baseball.......... Thanks!!!!!
"El Astro Boricua", Mr Roberto Clemente, was the most terrifying outfielder to run on if you had the guts to test his arm. I was raised watching him play, and yes, many players are gifted with great arms, but it was the accuracy from any distance in the field that made Mr Clemente the GOAT. And notice also, that the fields back then was original grass, not the artificial turf nowadays that makes the ball bounce faster and without any bumps that makes the outfielders play with more confidence.
All the OF's mentioned had great arms. No one listed RF Carl Furillo, "the Reading Rifle" of the 1950's Dodgers. But of all the great arms, the greatest "natural" after Babe Ruth was Willie Mays.
As soon as I saw this video title I thought to myself; they better have Dave Parker's throw in there. I was an Astros fan back then and I still remember that throw. I could not believe the velocity he could get on his throws. If you look at the side view from the angle of the throw the ball rises after travelling about 15+ yards because of the spin he put on the ball. Amazing arm, amazing talent.
Indeed If the Cobra took better care of himself and stayed off the coke he would have been a Top 20 all time player. Nevertheless, he still had a very good career
As a kid, I considered long throws like these one of the most exciting things in sports. I also wondered how many runners were out on these because of base coach gaffs!
