Luis Lara had so much flair as he robbed a home run that even the umpires weren’t sure he caught it.
The latest spectacular catch from the Milwaukee Brewers rookie known already as “Air Lara” came in the top of the fifth on Sept. 11 as he skied over the eight-foot fence with his 5-foot-7 frame and brought back what would have been a home run off the bat of Cincinnati Reds third baseman Eugenio Suarez.
Lara ranged into right-center field as center fielder Garrett Mitchell arrived around the same moment, and Lara leapt and snagged the ball above the yellow padding at the top of the fence, not all that far from where he made his game-saving catch against the Chicago Cubs earlier in the week.
What came next confused many in the crowd, as well as the umpires and Suarez.
Lara held his arms out in celebration, basking in his latest spectacular catch. But as he did so, he never showed the umpires the ball. Lara then smiled, turned to watch the play on the video board and adjusted his hat before finally throwing the ball in 16 seconds after he made the catch.
Suarez rounded the bases in that time while second base umpire Doug Eddings wasn’t quite sure Lara had the ball or not.
Brewers starter Dustin May held his arms in the air for the entire time, too, under the impression Lara had the ball but not entirely sure.
In the end, it was just another thing to go right for the Brewers in their bludgeoning of the Reds.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Luis Lara astonished everyone with his latest highlight grab
