The Boston Red Sox broke out of a slump in a big way and beat the rival Toronto Blue Jays 6-3 on Aug. 27. A late-rally attempt by Daulton Varsho stole the show — rather, Ceddanne Rafaela's response did.
The outfielder crushed a homer to straightaway center field in the ninth inning. The Sox fan who caught the ball wasn't thrilled that it came off the bat of a Blue Jay, and hucked it back into the field.
The fan's toss made it all the way to Rafaela at shortstop, who took objection to the ball's return. Rafaela fired it back to the triangle of seats in center field at Fenway Park, and the ball rattled off the back wall under the scoreboard.
A different Sox fan ended up with Varsho's home run ball, but she appeared much happier than the first fan — maybe because Rafaela co-opted the ball as his own after such a toss. The game-angle of the video and a fan perspective of the events has gone viral on social media, and fans have called for Rafaela to win Rookie of the Year after the throw.
Ceddanne Rafaela tosses returned home run ball back to Red Sox fans in the stands... from shortstop
The 23-year-old infielder/outfielder boasts 94th-percentile arm strength, according to Baseball Savant. Rafaela may be one of the only players on the Red Sox — or in the league — who could make such a throw from shortstop.
Rafaela's monster toss overshadowed Varsho's homer and the fan's throw back into the infield, which was quite a toss in its own right. The rookie put an exclamation point on the Red Sox's Aug. 27 win and sent the Blue Jays' home run ball back where it belongs.