Happy Wednesday, Athletics Nation!

Denzel Clarke is being celebrated across baseball for his defensive wizardry in center field. After becoming just the second player to win two consecutive Electric Play of the Week awards, Clarke upped his own ante with an incredible over-the-wall home run robbery in Anaheim on Monday.

Denzel Clarke has won Electric Play of the Week each of the last 2 weeks

He is the second player since the award’s inception in 2019 to win back-to-back weeks, joining Riley Greene (9/19 & 9/26 in 2022)

It’s a new week and he already has a new entry!!! https://t.co/FxJz3VUlcT

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) June 10, 2025

Few can readily recall ever witnessing a more spectacular catch than Monday’s, and I’ll be absolutely shocked if this play doesn’t win Clarke his third straight honor.

Jason Burke at SI.com came up with an interesting angle on this story, noting that the A’s have a history of making phenomenal defensive plays at Angel Stadium.

The first that came to my mind was among the three plays Burke highlighted: the putout-assist double play made by Ramón Laureano in 2018.

This incredible effort was named the most exciting play of the year on MLB.com. Here we see Ramón range 76 feet to make the catch on a fly ball from Justin Upton—a feat in itself—and then throw a perfect 321-foot strike to Mark Canha at first base to double up on Eric Young Jr.

Which play is more magnificent? Both would make my top five if not top three. Clarke’s leap is clearly the most impressive display of raw physical ability, but I’d give Laureano bonus points for pulling off such a flawless combo move. To make the catch and then quickly reverse his momentum to make such a strong and accurate throw was truly jaw-dropping. Honestly, I’d call it a tie.

The third play that Burke recalled was this “throw of the year” by Yoenis Céspedes from left field in 2014.

This play is incredible, but it wouldn’t have happened if Céspedes hadn’t bobbled the ball in the first place. I’m inclined to dock points for that and hang the bronze medal on this one.

Burke also points out that Laureano’s play also depended on Young’s overly aggressive and underly mindful base running—that’s a fair point, and maybe a reasonable tie breaker. But I’m not so sure—one could also say that Ramón deserves extra credit for his own heads-up recognition of Young’s movement while he was executing a difficult catch.

What do you think? Is Clarke’s latest catch the GOAT among spectacular A’s plays, or even the greatest catch of all time? Share your thoughts in the comments!

A’s Coverage:

MLB News & Interest:

Best of X:

Heard someone saying PCA is the best defender in baseball..

Roster moves.

B.Buelvas to MID IL
B.Newton to MID
LHP Jack Mahoney signs MiLB deal/to LAN
N.Kurtz off IL
A.Wynns to A’s from CIN for $
J.Pereda/L.Davidson to LV
P.Pineda off STK IL
1B C.Gonzalez/IF B.Andrade to STK
1B G.Ortiz/SS J.Fernandez/SS G.Gouldsmith to ACL A’s…https://t.co/joKXkyUAPy

— Bill Moriarity – A’s Farm (@AthleticsFarm) June 11, 2025

Wilson benched as a precaution.

Jacob Wilson came in today feeling some tightness in his left hamstring, per Kotsay. Said the day off is more precautionary, especially with the A’s in the 15 day of a stretch of 16 consecutive games.

— Martín Gallegos (@MartinJGallegos) June 11, 2025

Lots of free-for-alls at All-Star week this summer

MLB announced that fans can attend the MLB Draft, Home Run Derby X, and the red carpet shows at this year’s All-Star week for free. Registration is done through the official All-Star Game website.

— Jessica Kleinschmidt (@KleinschmidtJD) June 10, 2025