Mariners’ Rick Rizzs calls near-identical HR-robbing catches by Griffey, Kyle Lewis 30 years apart
Sep 14, 2020, 8:10 PM | Updated: 8:33 pm
Kyle Lewis had a memorable catch to rob Ramon Laureano of a grand slam. (Getty)
(Getty)
Mariners star rookie Kyle Lewis’ incredible catch to rob a grand slam on Monday night didn’t just look familiar. It sounded familiar, too.
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That’s because the catch Ken Griffey Jr. made in 1990 to take a home run away from the Yankees’ Jesse Barfield, which people immediately started comparing Lewis’ play to, was called by the same announcer who made another memorable call on Monday – 30 years later.
That man would be Rick Rizzs, the longtime voice of the Mariners who anchors the broadcast on the team’s radio network, which 710 ESPN Seattle is the flagship station of.
Watch a side-by-side comparison here:
The kid imitating The Kid pic.twitter.com/P5c8WJDetf
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Lewis’ catch, which robbed Oakland outfielder Ramon Laureano and prevented the A’s from building an early 5-0 lead, was just the latest highlight in a season that has been full of them, both in the field and with his bat. Lewis is the front-runner to win the American League Rookie of the Year award, hitting .295 with 10 home runs, 27 RBIs, and an .887 OPS.
Here’s a longer version of Lewis’ catch featuring full video with calls by Rizzs on 710 ESPN Seattle, Dave Sims on ROOT Sports and an A’s broadcast from NBC Sports California.
The 25-year-old center fielder hit his 10th home run of the year and drove in the winning run with a bases-loaded walk in a 6-5 Seattle win in the first game of a doubleheader at T-Mobile Park against the A’s on Monday, but while he saved those four runs and had a late double in Game 2, the Mariners could muster just two hits against Oakland pitcher Mike Minor in a 9-0 loss (click here for the recap story of both games).
Catch Rizzs calling the action of Lewis and the Mariners again at 6:40 p.m. Tuesday when the San Francisco Giants come to town.
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