Diamondbacks right fielder Gerardo Parra is widely known to have one of the best arms in all of baseball. Over the past three seasons, while playing mostly in a part-time role in Arizona's crowded outfield, Parra has totaled nine, 12 and eight assists, with the middle number coming in 2011, when he earned his first Gold Glove.
He also already has six assists this year, leading all National League outfielders and putting him on pace to blow past his career best with the season barely past the quarter mark. The guy can gun it. And with him finally getting a chance to play every day this season, you'd think the scouting report would be out: Don't run on him.
But on Saturday, in the bottom of the first inning in a game in Miami -- a game Parra led off with a home run to give the Diamondbacks a 1-0 lead -- Marlins second baseman Derek Dietrich did just that, trying to score from second on a line-drive single to right. Parra threw a laser to catcher Miguel Montero that beat Dietrich to the plate by about 10 feet to end the inning, and he reacted by summoning his inner Dikembe Mutumbo:
While not quite as dramatic as Mutumbo's epic finger wag, it definitely told the story.
By the way, Parra's throw turned out to be a significant one, as his leadoff homer held up as the only run of the game in the Diamondbacks' 1-0 win.
