Reed Johnson's catch was one of the best ever

I love TiVo - I just watched it 10 times! For sure #1 on Sportscenter Top 10 tonight. I can't believe where the ball landed in his glove and he held on to it! Wow - really great. There. Now don't go accusing me of never saying anything good about the Cubs.

As great a catch as it was it's a shame it didn't happen during an NLCS or WS game because then it would be played for decades much like the Willie Mays over the shoulder basket catch was.

Roman responds: I was thinking the same thing. It's a much more difficult catch than Willie's, but there wasn't any postseason pressure.

Even Hawk would have had a chill down his spine with that grab. It has to make the highlight reel of the years best plays. Please don't accuse me of being a Cub fan, either. A baseball fan, I am!!!

I was at that game, sitting on the 3rd base line, and got a pretty good look at that catch.

That was SICK. Being a Cubs fan, I was bummed at first cuz that had double written all over it off the bat. That is, until Johnson came up with the catch....

I think that might be the best catch I've ever seen!

I can't not give props...and while I'm at it...some for Jim Hendry too

I am a huge Cub fan but that catch was pure luck. I like Johnson, think he is a good addition to the team but it was just a lucky catch. Although good hustle.

Roman responds: What are you talking about? If that's not a really good catch than what is? Describe it.

Has to be the best catch I ever saw, for the amount of ground that he covered and then to "lay out" and hang on. By the way, where the hell was DeRosa?

Could Pie have made that catch? I think he probably could have gotten there faster and made it look easier, but Johnson has been solid all year and is great as a lead-off man as well.

Solid catch but not great. Edmonds makes those catches all the time. Go Cards

That was the greatest catch of all time. Taking into account the distance covered as he closed in on the wall as well as the fact that it was on his back hand side and where it landed in his glove - simply amazing. If that wasn't the greatest of all time then what was?

"Solid" catch? Wow Paul, you are too kind. And I suppose you think Michelangelo's David is just an adequate statue.

Phenomenal!

As far as "greatest catches of all time" ... it's in the highlight reel; that's for sure.

I've seen outfielders literally climb the wall, and I've seen short stops and third basemen stretched out, perpendicular to the ground, defying gravity, along with a few of the laws of physics to make a catch.

I've even seen pitchers take down bullets shot back at the mound when they had mere milliseconds to react, and then cut down a runner already on base.

Some of these guys might not look like super human specimens, but they are indeed talented athletes.

Johnson's catch ranks right up there with the best of them.

Good topic.

Wow! Cubs fan that I am, I had missed that play due to my schedule. Thanks for replaying it for me! I had not heard of Reed Johnson before the Cubs got him, and have to say I've been very impressed with his play so far! GREAT CATCH, NOT LUCK!

Was a great catch, but no where near the best ever. I've seen guys go through the wall and snatch back dingers. Even a guy gun on the side of the wall. Minnesota Twins catch one like that everytime they play us! Exaggeration, but Sox Fans will feel me.

trapped it.

Let's get real. He dove and probably didn't need too. It was definitely not a 'GREAT" catch. It appears only Sox fans are wowed by this. The Cubs and their fans with such a long tradition of excellency, including 10,000 wins have come to expect this kind of execution. The kind that is so rare from the Sox, that they have fireworks after every homerun, as if to say, "wow, we weren't expecting that". You continue to celebrate individual plays, and we will continue to celebrate all of baseball in its true glory. What else would you expect from such evolved persons.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO CUBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBIES>

I love the look on Murtons face after the Johnson catch. WTF did I just witness.

One of the best I have ever seen!
Lucky he did not break his neck at the end of it.

First, that was DeRosa, not Murton. Second he did need to dive and what a dive it was. I was thoroughly impressed. If that doesn't say I love to play baseball, I don't know what does. As far as Felix Pie catching that ball, I don't know about that. Maybe if there was an experienced left fielder going after it, it might have been a little easier.

You have to give the man his dues. Props.

What made this catch the greatest?

1. Instant acceleration to a full sprint from a great distance.
2. Angle of run had to be perfect.
3. Full body extension at full sprint on the warning track.
4. Backhanded finger/glove-tip catch.
5. Head first collusion into the that formed his body into a pretzel and he still held on to the ball.
6. He survived, and the bill of his cap turned up to salute the god of baseball and those before him who have made it the greatest game ever invented.

I don't care what anyone says. Not to take anything away from previous great catches, this was the most "thrilling" catch I've ever seen in my 59 years.

Thanks for viewing my video on youtube everyone!

fizzy take another good look at it, it WAS NOT trapped. Johnson's glove was clearly between the ground and the ball when he went down and it never came out of the glove. I'm guessing you're a sox fan that would never give a Cub proper due.

A great catch, but one of the "best ever"? Sorry, don't think so. When you have to 1. leave your feet while 2. feeling for the fence and 3. timing your jump so you're at the apex of your leap to 4. snare a ball that's 5. going over the fence, that's a great, great catch -- and worthy of the "best ever" category. Johnson made a great catch, but he accomplished #1 and #4. I do agree that if it had happened in the playoffs, Johnson would have gotten bonus points for the catch as the pressure intensifies.

Congrats to Johnson, but not a best ever.

What made it so great was total disregard for his own safety; flying head first not knowing where the wall was. Most other great catches don't include the possibility of killing yourself. That's what separates this from most others.

I'll admit that it would have been a great catch if he hadn't trapped it. He clearly trapped it against the wall if you look closely. Course if you're a fan hoping he held on to it, you might not notice it, since it wasn't trapped against the ground but the wall. Still a nice effort, probably would have been a routine catch if the cubs had a left fielder in the game that could run and knew the angles to take.

Where was Derosa??? He was stone cold frozen at the sight of one of the greatest grabs ever. By the way, did I mention I'm a STL fan?

Hey Paul, just a bit of info for you that everyone is aware of, execpt apparently you. Edmnonds does NOT make those catches all the time. Edmonds plays shallow, waits for pop ups to almost drop then dives, waits for the cameras to finish then gets up. Or, he waits for a ball to go over his head, times it perfectly (I'll give him good timing) then goes back and dives. And by the way, he NEVER, NEVER gets close to a wall. And finally, he's a Padre now, not a deadbird.

What a joke. Youtube removed my video. The reasoning:
This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by MLB Advanced Media.

Stupid idiots

That was a great catch. I'm a little late in seeing it, I heard about it, but had business to attend to for the past couple of weeks. I'm in the Toronto region, so I've had the pleasure of seeing Johnson for the past few years. He's a get down and dirty type of player. With the Jays he made all kinds of these plays where he's going all out and sacrificing his body. Now that he's a Cub, ball fans everywhere will have a chance to see him. He's a great guy to have on the team and cub fans are lucky to have him.

J.P. (Jays GM) made a brutal mistake releasing him and keeping Stewart. Lets see, let the guy go that's better with the bat, the speed, the arm, the glove and the heart just to save $1.5 million. Just one of many reasons J.P. has to get fired.