Carlos Gomez is a defensive wizard

My favourite aspect of the game of baseball is defense. When you watch players go out into the field and make spectacular plays look routine every night, it becomes easy to forget how hard it is to stop, catch or throw a baseball as well as they do. Anyone who has tried making an over-the-shoulder catch, or barehanding a chopper, or making a 90 foot throw to first off their back foot will appreciate the raw athleticism that you need to play defense, and this appreciation of incredible glovework has made players like Brendan Ryan, Brandon Crawford and Andrelton Simmons much more viable in the modern game. But one player in particular has stood out to me this season on defense, and that is Carlos Gomez of the Milwaukee Brewers.

He has long been an above-average defender in center field, with positive DRS every season, and he is no stranger to highlight reels as his excellent speed allows him to make spectacular plays frequently. This season, however, he has been able to pull off those highlight reel plays with an extraordinary amount of consistency. This image created by Mark Simon of ESPN shows Gomez's incredible ability to go back on balls hit over his head this season:

Of 35 balls hit over his head, Gomez has been able to catch 34 of them. That is an incredible stat, and perhaps frustratingly for Gomez, this one play he was not able to make was routine by his incredible standards. Gomez is putting together an excellent offensive season, but it's his ridiculous glovework that has me sitting up and watching, and here are a few glimpses at those over-his-head plays:

And they are just three of many. Gomez continues to give Brewers fans something worth watching, and his incredible record on balls over his head bears watching for the rest of the season.