Blue Jays 2015 Year End Awards: Play of the Year

Runner-Up: 06/24 – Josh Donaldson‘s MVP Campaign Takes Flight

Marco Estrada, as per usual during the 2015 season, was pitching a gem against the Tampa Bay Rays. This particular one was of the perfect game variety through seven innings, and although the Blue Jays hadn’t come up with any offense to support Estrada, it felt like there was a chance the Rays would fall victim to yet another perfect performance.

With cleanup hitter David DeJesus leading off the 8th, and that phrase alone telling exactly why the Rays were so comically bad at the plate, Estrada pitched to a full count before DeJesus fouled off a changeup that looked like it would extend the at bat. Josh Donaldson had other plans.

Aiming for a friendly pocket of Blue Jays fans along the foul line, Donaldson tracked the slicing ball and dove into the stands. Using a sunglasses-sporting larger fellow as a landing pad, the Bringer of Rain hauled in the catch to the delight of his teammates. At the time, it seemed to be the equivalent of the Dewayne Wise catch in Mark Buehrle‘s perfect game. Of course Logan Forsythe would break up the bid in the next at bat with an infield single, but the play remained etched in the minds of Blue Jays fans and stood out as the play of the regular season.

Next: 2015 Winner Best Play: The Reason 'Regular' Is In That Last Sentence