Colorado Rockies: Nolan Arenado judges two of his best defensive plays

Shortly after making one of the best defensive plays of his illustrious career on Saturday night, Colorado Rockies All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado talked about the play that is considered his top defensive moment.

During Saturday’s 6-1 victory over the San Diego Padres at Coors Field, Nolan Arenado of the Colorado Rockies ranged an estimated 111 feet to pull in a foul ball off the bat of Trent Grisham. The over-the-shoulder grab immediately grabbed headlines on social media and re-ignited the debate about the best play that Arenado has ever made in the field.

Many believe that Arenado’s top defensive play ever came during the 2015 season in a game of San Francisco against the Giants. Known as the “tarp catch,” it has become legendary among Rockies fans.

Arenado even acknowledged the “tarp catch” on Saturday night when asked about his play against the Padres, saying that game in San Francisco was the only time he could remember ranging that type of distance and making the play.

Take a look at a comparison of the two catches below.

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Arenado has been asked several times about the tarp catch of 2015 and that happened again on Saturday night. In the past, Arenado has acknowledged that the moment in San Francisco was “a great play, but also scary at the same time.”

Here’s what Arenado had to say about “the best of the best” from that San Francisco night.

“The one in San Fran was by far the hardest play,” Arenado said when asked to discuss his catch from Saturday versus the one from five years earlier. “I know the field here, so there’s a little more room. When you go down the line in San Fran, there’s a railing that sticks out and the tarp and the wind is kind of crazy. San Fran was definitely harder.”

While we continue to be amazed by Arenado on the field, it’s clear that the “tarp catch” from 2015 is still what all other defensive wizardry plays will be judged against.