Michael Earley's Catch and Crash Voted MILBY Award Win
November 3, 2014 - Southern League (SL1)
Birmingham Barons News Release
Birmingham, AL - Michael Earley's running catch and crash through the visitors bullpen at Regions Field on August 17th has been voted the 2014 MiLB Blooper of the Year. Earley's catch garnered 35% of the vote with the closest runner up coming in at 17%. Voting was open to fans across the country on MiLB.com and ran from October 9th through October 23rd. The catch was also featured on ESPN's SportsCenter Top Ten Plays on August 18th and went viral with over 40,000 views on YouTube.
In the top of the 3rd inning, Chattanooga's Angel Sanchez led off with a sinking line drive towards left center field. Earley was in hot pursuit with his glove extended he then leaped and caught the ball hoping to brace himself against the Lookouts bullpen. Unknowingly to Earley the gate was not locked resulting in Earley sliding down and landing on his lower back.
Video of the catch can be downloaded here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/tk6u43pc9paprav/EarleyCrash.mov?dl0
This win marks the Barons first MiLB.com award since the 15th Rickwood Classic was named the 2010 Promotion of the Year. The Steel City Burger a staple at Regions Field finished 13th out of 60 food items in the MiLB Food Fight fan voting earlier this season. In addition, Babe Ruff finished 2nd in the Southern League in this year's Mascot Mania fan voting contest.
The Barons will open the 2015 season on Thursday, April 9th at 7:05pm against the Mobile BayBears. A printable version of the full schedule for the 2015 Barons season can be found under the "Schedule" menu header online at www.barons.com. A full promotional calendar with featured giveaways, entertainers and a date for the 20th Annual Rickwood Classic will be released in early 2015. All game times and promotions are subject to change.
For information about the Barons and the 2015 season at Regions Field, please call (205) 988-3200 or visit www.barons.com, www.facebook.com/birminghambarons or on Twitter: @bhambarons.
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Southern League Stories from November 3, 2014
- Michael Earley's Catch and Crash Voted MILBY Award Win - Birmingham Barons
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