World Series: Chas McCormick making no friends back home
Houston Astros left fielder Chas McCormick catches a fly ball hit by Philadelphia Phillies' J.T. Realmuto during the ninth inning in Game 5 of baseball's World Series between the Houston Astros and the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022, in Philadelphia. The Houston Astros won 3-2. Credit: AP/Chris Szagola
HOUSTON
Who didn’t grow up scaling fences, either the wood-picket number circling the backyard or the chain-link variety behind the school, dreaming of making The Catch — the leaping, reaching, impossible grab that wins the World Series.
Everyone has. But now flip the script. And instead of delivering that title for your hometown team, it’s the bad guys who benefit. Your dream turns into a nightmare for everyone else. Friends, neighbors, maybe even some members of your family.
Welcome to Chas McCormick’s world.
McCormick made the biggest catch of his life Thursday night in Game 5 of the World Series, climbing the right-centerfield wall of his childhood ballpark for a spectacular grab that instantly turned him into a Fall Classic icon.
The only problem? He was wearing the wrong uniform.
You see, McCormick is from West Chester, Pennsylvania, a Philly suburb roughly 35 miles from Citizens Bank Park. Naturally, he was a huge Phillies fan and still has the mental scars from the Yankees beating them in 2009. But when McCormick returned home for this World Series, it was in the Astros' blue-and-orange. And if that wasn’t tough enough for his buddies to handle, the catch went next level.
With the Phillies down 3-2 in the ninth, J.T. Realmuto smoked a high drive that off the bat looked to have a chance to clear the wall altogether. McCormick gave chase, and just when it seemed the ball would carom off the fence for extra bases, he went into Spiderman Mode, grabbing the scoreboard mesh with his left hand while reaching up to seize the ball inches from the wall for the second out.
In that instant, McCormick silenced 45,693 versions of his former self. And if he had been doing anything else but playing centerfield for the Astros that night, who knows? McCormick probably would have been wearing a Bryce Harper jersey right there with them, standing there slack-jawed in shock.
Before the World Series moved to Philadelphia for the middle three games, McCormick said his circle was mostly supportive, saying they hoped he went 4-for-4 in a string of Astros losses. With that in mind, I asked him before Game 6 if their moods turned a little darker after that catch tore their hearts out and put the Phillies on the brink of losing this title shot. Did his friends seem colder lately, with more of an edge?
“I didn't have any friends after that, to tell you the truth,” McCormick said, smiling.
He probably was only half-joking. This is the World Series, after all, something the Phillies have won just twice, in 2008 and 1980. On Saturday night, McCormick was part of the Astros group trying to stomp on those championship wishes back home, and he’s been hearing about it, too. Consider the volume turned up after the catch.
"I got some strange, strange things I won't really talk about,” McCormick said before Game 6. “But most of 'em were, ‘Man, you could have dropped that ball’ or ‘Why did you catch that ball?’ ”
Another reasonable question: How did McCormick go from playing at Division II Millersville University — two hours west of Philadelphia — to being a starting outfielder for the perennial powerhouse Astros?
That process was set in motion during the 2021 season when Houston traded Myles Straw to Cleveland in July, elevating rookie McCormick to the team’s everyday centerfielder.
Straw, who gained a level of Bronx infamy himself this season for climbing the wall to jaw at Yankees fans, was back in McCormick’s orbit this week, or at least his social-media purview. Straw was among the many to check back with his former teammate after seeing the viral-video grab. McCormick singled out Straw as the “coolest” person he heard from. The message: “Let’s [expletive] go. That was heat.”
McCormick’s catch wasn’t the only stellar defensive play by the Astros in Game 5. Trade deadline pickup Trey Mancini — forced to put on a glove for the first time since Oct. 5 because of Yuli Gurriel's injury — made a brilliant scoop of Kyle Schwarber’s bullet grounder down the first-base line to strand two in the eighth inning.
As rare as it was for Mancini to be in that spot, he was back at first base Saturday night, this time starting for Gurriel, who had to be removed from the roster because of a knee injury suffered in a Game 5 rundown.
“So now it's Mancini's time to shine,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said. “And I feel that this is another opportunity for him to have a good series, all in one game, hopefully.”
McCormick already has put his stamp on this World Series. And if the Astros close it out for their second title in six seasons — this one with no asterisk — he may need to give his Philly crew back home some time to cool off before hanging out again.
“I know my 13-year-old self would be really mad at me,” McCormick said. “But leaving my mark in my hometown ballpark, there's nothing better.”
That’s not entirely true. But he doesn’t play for the Phillies.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
