7 greatest plays from Andrelton Simmons's tenure with the Braves
Andrelton Simmons was a walking highlight reel at SS. Here are the 5 best plays:
Although Andrelton Simmons' tenure with the Braves only lasted 499 games (and 1999 plate appearances), the SS made so many mindblowing plays that limiting it to seven plays feels impossible... but we're doing it anyway.
With the defensive wizard recently announcing he was hanging up the spikes, we thought it would be fun to look back at his best plays with the Braves.
Here are our seven favorites:
7. Simba goes behind the back
Look, this play didn't result in an out. In fact, a run scored as Clint Barnes reached on an infield single. But this might be one of the slickest attempts on what would have been a sure single anyway.
6. Simba walks the Braves off
The rest of the plays on this list are defensive highlights, but it would be a disservice to exclude his offensive contributions. Simmons wasn't great with the bat, but he was no 1977 Jerry Royster either.
I was tempted to go with this 2-homer game against the Cubs in 2013, but there's something about this walk-off taking place just two weeks before his final game with the Braves that makes me go with it instead. It also snapped a 12-game losing streak at Turner Field.
5. Andrelton catches Bryce Harper napping after a single
Every time you turned on a Braves game with Andrelton Simmons manning SS, it felt like he was one second away from turning an ordinary play into a phenomenal play. This Bryce Harper single was no exception.
After lacing a single into CF, Harper took his turn too far around 1B, and a fast-thinking Andrelton Simmons quickly handled the rely and fired back to 1B to nab Harper.
4. Andrelton handles the weird hop and makes a strong throw
Simba made the plays he should've made. He also made the plays that most others wouldn't have. But he was at his most outstanding when he made plays he had absolutely no business making. This was one of those plays.
Will Venable hit a broken bat pop-up that dropped on Simmons decided to handle on the hop. That hop, however, had crazy side spin that nearly jetted into LF.
Somehow, Simmons was able to barehand it and throw out Venable in plenty of time.
The Braves announcers were in awe, and Joe Simpson giddily noted, "and we get to watch him every day."
3. Simmons makes a sneaky tag on Domonic Brown
This was another ordinary play that Simmons worked his magic on. The magic was so subtle that even the umpires missed it.
On a 1-1 pitch, Aaron Harang whiffed on a bunt and A.J. Pierzynski fired back to 2B to try and catch Domonic leaning.
Although Brown initially got back in safely, Simmons watched with an eagle eye and pounced the half-second that Brown took his foot off the bag.
After Fredi Gonzalez asked for a review, the umpires overruled the call and Brown was out.
2. Andrelton somehow makes the tag between his legs
This is another one of those plays Simmons had absolutely no right making. Luis Avilan threw over to first and looked to have Shin-Soo Choo stealing early. However, Freddie Freeman's throw (and possibly a late reaction from Simmons) took Simmons away from the base.
But somehow, the defensive wizard was able to sneak a tag in-between his legs and end the inning.
1. Andrelton robs Travis d'Arnaud... 3 TIMES!
Sometimes, I'd like to believe that these robberies caused Travis d'Arnaud so much trauma that he joined the Braves just so he wouldn't have terrible flashbacks every time he hit a grounder to SS against Atlanta.
It first started on April 9, 2014, when d'Arnaud grounded one deep into the hole. Simmons quickly got over, but then slipped as he was gloving the ball.
But, on his knees, Simmons fired a ball that looked like it was 200 MPH and got the Braves future catcher by a half second.
Less than five months later, with the Braves up by one, a runner on 3B, and two outs, d'Arnaud looked like he had tied the game, as his grounder even reached the OF grass.
But again, Simmons was just able to get his glove on it and made a ridiculous jump throw to get d'Arnaud on a bounce by a half-step to keep the lead in tact.
Simmons graciously gave d'Arnaud a seven-month reprieve, which was enough time for him to change numbers from 15 to 7, but that number change didn't give him any extra luck on April 10, 2015.
On a grounder that went passed Chris Johnson and once again reached the OF grass. This once again required a ridiculous jump throw from Simmons, and somehow, he made an even better play, with the throw easily reaching Freeman before the Mets catcher reached the base.
Although his time with the Braves wasn't as long as we hoped, it was incredibly fun while it lasted.