It is the bottom of the eighth; the score is tied 1-1. Since it’s a high school baseball game, the game went into extra innings. The lead-off hitter, Drew Forrest, made it to first on a walk. He then steals second. The next batter flew out, one out. The pitcher throws a wild pitch, and Forrest takes advantage and steals third. The Lick-Wilmerding Tigers are only a few feet away from downing rival University High School. On the second pitch, the batter attempts a suicide squeeze, but pulls back. Forrest, already too far gone, goes for what seemed the improbable: steal home. And the ensuing play becomes a viral video legend. Forrest wiggles, tap dances, shimmies, (insert action verb here) his way home and gives the Tigers the win over their hated rivals.
The ending was one of the most dramatic endings ever for a baseball game. The play was recorded by a spectator and went viral, appearing in mediums such as The Today Show, Bleacher Report and even made it to the “Top 10 Plays” in SportsCenter!
“The video was actually recorded by the opposing pitcher’s father,” said Forrest. “And the other team took it down due to the bad publicity.”
The video had about 45,000 views before it was taken down. “I first heard of it… I was in Spanish class, with my friends, and we saw the video in the computer,” said Forrest. After the video reappeared, the view count reset to zero, so in reality the video has about over 130,000 views.
Forrest displayed quick reactions, and just as quick feet, on that close play. “It looked like I got into a pickle. It seemed that it wasn’t going to end well,” said Forrest. But the catcher made the grave error of “lunging towards me,” adds Forrest. “As a catcher, you’re supposed to wait for the runner to come to you instead.”
And he should know. He did play catcher his senior year in high school, (he was catching in the game from the video). Forrest played varsity all four years. He was a second baseman from his freshman to junior year and converted to catcher on his last year.
Forrest is now attending the University of Oregon. He is majoring in clinical psychology and a business minor in business administration. He’ll be graduating in 2016. His future is in psychology, with a Ph.D. and eventually a private practice.
Even now that he is in college, he still loves sports. “I still play,” says Forrest. “I… participate in intramural sports. I still play baseball, basketball and soccer.”
http://youtu.be/9oa2c2tHEwY
