Hey, look: baseball! Real, live baseball.
The Tigers played their first intrasquad game of Summer Camp Wednesday at Comerica Park -- and it was cut short in the fifth inning due to thunderstorms, because we can't have nice things in 2020.
But before the team was forced off the field, center fielder Derek Hill made one of the most insane catches of his young career. And this is a guy who's known for his glove.
After getting turned around on a line drive by Jeimer Candelario, Hill caught up with the ball and reeled it in over his shoulder. When it popped out of his glove as he fell to the ground, he swiped it off the tip of the grass with his bare hand. Then he held up his handiwork for all to see.
Did he really catch it?
"Oh, always," Hill said with a smile. "Just barely got it before it hit the ground."
He said it's a catch he'll remember, but not "just because we were at Comerica. I think it was honestly just one of my better catches. Never really done the bare-hand thing, so it's nice to add that to my repertoire.
"But yeah, it did have a little symbolic purpose to me. Obviously finally up here and hopefully I can go out there and show my talent."
It's the other side of Hill's skill set that remains a question mark. He hit .243 over 120 games with Double-A Erie last season -- the same average he holds over six years in the minors -- and struck out 147 times. He posted an OPS of .705. Then he hit .154 over seven games this year in spring training.
It won't matter how many plays Hill makes in the field if he can't hold his own at the plate. Still, Wednesday's catch was a sight to behold. Candelario was in disbelief when he got to third base, certain that he had just hit a triple.
From center field, Hill waved him back to the dugout.
"I don't care if he wanted to stay there," Hill smiled. "I was going to get him off, because those catches don't come around too often. When they do, you can't let them slip away."
It was awesome," said Candelario. "He's a great center fielder. He can run, he has a really good first step. Good for him, man. We're excited to have him here in spring training."
Wednesday's game also featured home runs by JaCoby Jones and Frank Schwindel, both off Tyler Alexander. Michael Fulmer pitched two solid innings. Spencer Torkelson and Riley Greene each got an at-bat, with Torkelson grounding out to short and Greene striking out looking.