At the bottom of the first inning, Los Angeles Angels first baseman Nolan Schanuel thought he'd hit himself a dinger against the Athletics. The ball, thrown down the middle at 87 mph by Grant Holman, flew off the bat and went right to left-center field, where the Halos have a notoriously short fence.

Nine times out of ten, that is a home run. 99 times out of 100, that is a home run. But Denzel Clarke, on a mission to establish himself as MLB's premier center field magician, put the league on notice, turning in a catch the likes of which fans in the building will never forget.

What. A. Robbery.

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Now, for fans in Oakland, Las Vegas, and around the world who like to watch the As from time to time, Clarke doing something otherworldly when the ball is in the air is nothing new, as he's been pulling off circus catches on a near-weekly basis since getting called up, but this one might just be his most impressive to date, setting a clear benchmark in the Catch of the Year conversation that fans will be measuring every subsequent grab against.

Originally drafted in the fourth round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Cal Northridge, Clarke officially made it to The Show in 2025 after beginning the year with the AAA Las Vegas Aviators. While Clarke is still looking to find his offense at the game's highest level, with just 11 hits, seven runs, three RBIs, and a home run over his first 51 plate appearances, his defense has more than made up for some initial struggles at the plate.

After saying goodbye to Esteury Ruiz in a minor deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the A's have somehow found an even more exciting center field project who can fly around the field and snag any ball remotely thrown his way. For his sake, fans had better hope that Clarke can find more offense than Ruiz, as he could then become a centerpiece player for the Athletics moving forward.