College outfielder has Jose Canseco-like blunder as fly ball bounces off his head for improbable home run

Across all sports and all levels, coaches tell their players to use their heads. However, Highland center fielder Jake Shields used his head in a completely different sense and had a Jose Canseco moment.

In Highland’s 8-4 loss to Butler in the first game of a doubleheader on Thursday at McDonald Stadium in Kansas, Butler designated hitter Tanay Vyas hit a high fly ball to right-center field with a runner on first base with two outs in the bottom of the third inning.

Shields ran over to make the play, shielding the sun with his glove and his sunglasses, but completely misjudged the ball. Instead of catching the fly ball, it landed on his head and bounced over the wall for an improbable home run to make it 3-1.

Shields’ blunder was reminiscent of Jose Canseco’s infamous outfielder blunder in 1988. Carlos Martinez, a designated hitter for the Cleveland Indians, hit a fly ball to the warning track in right field.

Canseco, an outfielder for the Texas Rangers at the time, ran to the wall to try to catch the ball, but missed it. The ball hit off his head and bounced up and over the wall for a home run.

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Shields was well short of the warning track in the outfield when the ball hit his head, meaning the ball bounced at least 30 feet off his head and over the wall for a two-run home run. The college baseball player bent over and held his head.

“Oh! Right off his forehead,” the announcer said. “Oh my, Jake Shields is going to feel that for a long time.”

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The main difference between Shields’ and Canseco’s miscues were how far the ball bounced off their heads. Canseco was right next to the wall, while Shields wasn’t even near the warning track.

Unfortunately for Highland, Shields’ blunder was the beginning of a tough four-game series against the Butler Grizzlies, as they swept the series.

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