The Chicago White Sox may be in the middle of a historically bad season, but on Wednesday night, they threatened to get a rare win over the reigning World Series champion Texas Rangers. In the bottom of the ninth inning, the White Sox managed to get two runners on base, with Nicky Lopez and Andrew Benintendi each hitting a single. That brought Andrew Vaughn to the plate. Facing a lefty in Andrew Chafin, Vaugn launched a deep drive to left field, and it looked as though the White Sox were going to go home happily. But not on Travis Jankowski's watch.

Jankowski was tracking the ball's flight from the instant it hit Vaughn's bat, and the Rangers left fielder ended up snagging the deep fly ball that seemed to be headed straight for the White Sox's bullpen to preserve a 4-3 lead for Texas with one out in the ninth inning. The assuredness with which Jankowski dealt with the near-home run was incredible, as he was in the right position and leapt at exactly the right moment to rob Vaughn of a dinger.

The Rangers ended up getting the final out of the game — and their 62nd win of the season — courtesy of a fly out from Lenyn Sosa two batters later. But the victory did not come without yet another nervy moment following Travis Jankowski's home run robbery. The White Sox ended up loading the bases on Chafin after Gavin Sheets drew a walk. Thankfully, Grant Anderson came in and induced a weak fly ball to end the night.

Chafin, after nearly giving up a walk-off home run, took to Instagram to thank Travis Jankowski for saving his backside.

Rangers fans have been treated to a pretty underwhelming title defense throughout 2024, but this catch from Travis Jankowski got their fanbase talking on social media. They were calling Jankowski's epic home run robbery the catch of the year, which, considering the circumstances, feels justified.

“Considering the stakes and difficulty… no way that’s not catch if the year,” wrote X user @JDCowboys2.

“That's an absolutely insane, Play of the Year style catch as well by Jankowski holy s**t,” added @ChrisMNovak.

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Some fans are even calling for Rangers manager Bruce Bochy to utilize Travis Jankowski's elite glove in the more difficult center field position.

“Trade taveras put jankowski in center,” suggested @gambler80yo.

Whatever the case may be, Jankowski definitely earned himself thousands of fans after saving the Rangers from defeat.

Travis Jankowski adds another play to his highlight reel for the Rangers

Travis Jankowski is far from the flashiest baseball player. He rarely hits the ball hard; for his career, he has a grand total of 11 home runs, with eight of those coming in the previous decade. Jankowski entered the Rangers' Wednesday night game against the White Sox with a ghastly slash line of .196/.259/.235, and he has hit just one home run on the year. His value comes mostly from his defensive versatility and baserunning utility.

But Jankowski has somehow found ways to deliver for the team in crucial moments. In Game 4 of the 2023 World Series, the light-hitting outfielder had himself a two-hit night, and on Opening Day, he hit a home run to right field to send the game to extras, which the Rangers eventually won. Now, he has come up huge again with a home run robbery, proving his worth to the franchise yet again.