Carson Kelly had a moment in spring training that made roughly 40 men wearing Diamondbacks uniforms erupt in cheers.
It was early in camp, before games had even started, and the Diamondbacks were working on defending the stolen base. Kelly was crouched behind the plate with runners on first and third. The 27-year-old received a mock pitch and then erupted into a frenzy of motion. Heads collectively whipped toward second, but there was no ball in flight. Instead, Kelly had pump-faked so hard that the runner on third had started toward home, allowing the catcher to throw behind him for an out as he scrambled back to the bag.
Kelly’s effort drew praise so loud, you’d have thought he’d secured the final out of the World Series. But what elicited that vociferous approval was his technique.
