Ceddanne Rafaela climbed the wall for a ridiculous catch to rob a home run for Red Sox
Ceddanne Rafaela has established himself as one of the best defensive players in baseball. The Red Sox centerfielder showed off his superhuman abilities Saturday afternoon in Phoenix when he made an incredible play to rob Diamondbacks All-Star Corbin Carroll of a home run.
The Red Sox lost to the Diamondbacks, 5-1, for the team's third straight defeat. But Rafaela turned in what could be the Catch of the Year when he took a home run off the boards in the bottom of the fifth inning.
With Arizona up 4-1 with one out in the fifth, Boston starter Lucas Giolito threw a 1-2 changeup to Carroll, who launched the pitch to deep right-center field. It looked destined for the pool area in the Chase Field stands, but Rafaela had other plans.
The Boston centerfielder took off and was able to chase down the ball, but he needed a little help from the wall. Rafaela timed his leap perfectly and dug his left foot into the outfield wall's padding, which he used to launch himself up and snag the ball as it went over the fence.
CEDDANNE THE MAGICIAN. 😱 pic.twitter.com/QD4nSGAuKj
— Red Sox (@RedSox) September 7, 2025
At first, it looked like Rafaela may have hurt himself as he came down to the ground screaming. But those were celebratory screams after he completed another jaw-dropping catch to rob Carroll of a 404-foot homer.
"I was excited," Rafaela told reporters after the game.
Rafaela covered 117 feet on the play, according to Statcast. Asked what was going through his mind before he made the catch, he said his focus was on getting the baseball into his glove.
"You can't really think," said Rafaela. "It happened quickly. I just tried to catch it there."
Rafaela's defense has been great since he debuted in 2023, but it's been on a different level this season. His Fielding Run Value of 17 ranks as the fifth-best in baseball.
Rafaela's home run thievery was the No. 1 play on Sportscenter's Top 10,which is impressive on a day filled with loads of college football highlights. Unfortunately it was the only highlight for the Red Sox on Saturday, as they lost a third straight game to fall 1.5 games behind the New York Yankees for the No. 1 spot in the AL Wild Card race.