It was June 27, 2012: the Los Angeles Angels were playing against the Baltimore Orioles in Camden Yards.
Young sensation Mike Trout, who won the AL Rookie of the Year award a few months later, made one of the best catches in franchise history.
As Orioles’ shortstop J.J. Hardy hit what looked like a home run to dead center field, Trout leaped about four feet above the wall to rob the infielder of a home run.
Many dubbed it as “The Catch”: you can watch it here:
8 years ago today, @miketrout made this INSANE catch & robbed JJ Hardy of a home run 🤯
(via @Angels)pic.twitter.com/Mwm4Ggfh8J
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) June 28, 2020
Graig Kreindler immortalized the moment with a painting, and uploaded it to Twitter for the world to see.
“Here’s my painting of Mike Trout making a stunning grab against J.J. Hardy and the Orioles on June 27, 2012. Based off an amazing Joy R. Absalon photo. Dat light tho,” he tweeted.
It’s really an amazing piece of art.
Here’s my painting of Mike Trout making a stunning grab against J.J. Hardy and the Orioles on June 27, 2012. Based off an amazing Joy R. Absalon photo. Dat light tho. pic.twitter.com/0fPydrkKiU
— Graig Kreindler (@GraigKreindler) April 20, 2022
He actually painted it in November of last year, per MLB.com.
It Was Trout’s Favorite Catch For Quite Some Time
In this old Los Angeles Times article, Trout speaks about the catch: “It’s one I’ll always remember, for sure,” he said.
He said it was “definitely” his favorite catch, but since the interview was performed in 2014, we would have to ask him again.
There is a pretty good chance it is still his favorite, though: it was a thing of beauty.
Trout became MLB’s best player that year, as his defensive prowess went well beyond that specific moment in June.
His offensive statistics are what made him well-known at the time, but he was an elite defender back in 2012.
We will always have “The Catch” to remember his best defensive days, and Kreindler’s painting to admire.
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