For outfielders, there is nothing more unnerving than chasing a deep fly ball to the wall and trying to find the balance between selling out to possibly make a key play to save a home run or extra bases and protecting yourself from a collision with the padded, yet still painful immovable object. The danger of the wall is the entire reason the warning track exists, an effort to alert fielders to the impending pain that awaits them if they don’t change course once they hit that dirt.
Most will start putting a hand out as they get close to the wall, an extra feeler to find it so they don’t suffer the fate of poor Minnesota centerfielder Rob Refsnyder on Monday afternoon in Baltimore. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Ryan Mountcaste hit a deep fly ball to centerfield that put Refsnyder on his horse to try and go get it. However, Refsnyder failed to put out an arm and failed to heed the warning of the track and ran smack into the wall as the ball sailed over it for a solo home run to tie the game.
Ryan Mountcaste ties the game on a solo shot, while Rob Refsnyder kisses the wall. #Birdland pic.twitter.com/QyPfnw2H8u
— Justin Groc (@jgroc) May 31, 2021
The close-up angle really shows how hard he hits the wall, although he at least wasn’t at a full sprint when he got there.
— Justin Groc (@jgroc) May 31, 2021
Happily, he was alright and remained in the game in what became a 3-2 Twins victory, but his tumble after slamming into the wall will serve as a lasting memory and a sure reminder to get that off hand out to find the wall before it finds him.