Sometimes you don’t need a full career. Sometimes one moment is enough to sear your memory in the hearts and minds of adoring fans everywhere.
That is exactly what Marcell Ozuna did with his amazing attempted catch of a long, towering, and it turns out, warning track fly ball on Tuesday night.
“We immediately recognized its greatness,” said Bill DeWitt, “and we knew immediately we had to immortalize it forever. Marcell is number 23. He is the Michael Jordan of St. Louis, except he’s an even better jumper than MJ ever dreamt of being.”
Ozuna will join the Cardinals Wall of Fame, with one twist, instead of being on the wall, he will be lying on the warning track where he made his final resting place the night before.
John Mozeliak explained, “To us, this is Cardinals baseball. He gave an absolutely valiant effort out there. You’ll never see a player try harder than Marcell Ozuna did on that play, first getting himself in position to clearly see the ball by leaping on the fence, holding his massive body up by only the strength of a shoulder that Jon Jay mocks, and then diving off the wall in a gallant attempt to somehow catch the ball.”
“While, he didn’t come close, he honor that he risked everything, including his beautiful face, his beautiful beard. Where other leftfielder would have lazily camped under the ball and caught it for a forgettable putout, Marcell gave us the show of a lifetime in an effort to ensure he was helping his team, even though he did the opposite.”
“Marcell Ozuna may only be at 55%, but clearly his effort is at 100% at all times, just like it was when he was conditioning this offseason.”
And so a fan-base that cherished the imagery Ozzie’s flips, LaRussa’s sunglass stare down, and Gibson’s violent windup can now add to that legacy with the belly-flop that inspired a victory, and likely, a 2019 World Series title.