SAN DIEGO — Walt Weiss has seen third baseman Nolan Arenado make some amazing plays going into the stands, but it makes the Rockies manager nervous nonetheless.
Arenado leaped into the second row of the field-level seats at Petco Park in the sixth inning of Monday’s game against the San Diego Padres trying to make a play on a ball hit by outfielder Wil Myers.
“He went into the seats and almost made another incredible play,” Weiss said. “Nolan, we’ve seen him pull off the impossible, and he almost did it again. He came really close to catching that ball well into the seats. Anytime a guy goes into the stands, you worry about him.”
The ball fell just beyond the reach of Arenado’s outstretched glove. Arenado suffered a chest contusion when he hit himself on either a seat or an arm rest, and he left the game in the eighth inning. X-rays after the game were negative, and Arenado said he expects to be in the lineup for Tuesday’s game.
“It was hurting and, as the game went on, it got tight a little bit every time I threw,” Arenado said. “It kind of hurt. and my last at-bat (in the seventh inning) it was feeling a little sore.
“I’ll be OK. … I thought if I dived, I would land on some people, but there was nobody sitting there. I saw the ball. It almost hit my glove, so it was right there. I just didn’t jump far enough. It was worth it. We won, and that’s all that matters.”
Arenado said it was one of those instances in which a player just goes after the ball and doesn’t have time to think about the consequences.
“It’s just instinct,” Arenado said. “I don’t have an explanation for it. If I feel like I have a chance to make a play, then I’m going to go for it. That’s all I’m trying to do. I’m not thinking about myself. I’m just thinking about making that play and hopefully get the out.”
