Two of the most stunning and spectacular plays in Baltimore sports history have happened in Denver, which we might consider calling the Mile High Miracle City.
The first occurred on January 12th, 2013, when Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco threw a long, arcing pass that landed in the arms of Jacoby Jones for a 70-yard, game-tying touchdown with less than a minute left in an AFC divisional playoff game against the Denver Broncos.
The second came Monday night, or early Tuesday morning, when Orioles outfielder Colton Cowser made the catch of his life, going above the center-field wall to pull back Jake McCarthy’s bid for a game-winning home run to preserve a 2-1 win.
I was fortunate enough to see both plays with my wife, Barb, whose loyalty to the home teams never wavers, unlike mine. The bigger point is, we got to share those magical plays and the joy they provided. That’s one of the gifts of sports, which can be a unifying source like no other.
On both occasions, we were watching the game alone, and on both occasions I thought the Ravens and Orioles were headed for a different outcome. Flacco had put 28 points on the board against Peyton Manning’s Broncos and was facing a third-and-3 with 31 seconds left when he eluded Denver’s pass rush, stepped up in the pocket and delivered his Mile High Miracle that tied the score, 35-35, in regulation. The Ravens won, 38-35, on a Justin Tucker field goal in double overtime.
Like Cowser’s catch, the remarkable play had the wow factor.
On Monday night, MASN broadcaster Ben McDonald was still in the process of saying that reliever Andrew Kittredge could pitch to McCarthy with a runner at second but to avoid giving him anything too good to hit, when Kittredge did exactly that. McCarthy belted a deep, high drive to center that Cowser played perfectly every step of the way.
Acknowledging that he was playing a little shallow to try to throw out the runner at home in case of a single, Cowser broke back immediately, looking like a receiver on a go route. He ran at an angle toward the wall and planted his right foot to elevate his 6-foot-3 frame. He needed every bit of his height and the height of his jump to catch the ball, which was clearing the wall when he pulled it back in and came back to earth.
The Catch was exciting enough, earning every superlative that followed, but so was the call by Kevin Brown and McDonald, rising to the moment. The MASN camera crew captured the looks of disbelief, starting with a relieved Kittredge, to a stunned dugout and the many Oriole fans who had stayed through a one-hour, 38-minute rain delay. There was a Wowser Cowser banner, followed by lines like, When Cows Fly, and McDonald’s Are You Kidding Me?
“It’s the best play I’ve ever seen in person,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “Just the catch itself, but also, obviously, game on the line. That’s a walk-off homer.”
Said Cowser, who also had the game-winning RBI: “I guess this one was a walk-off for them or it was a walk-off for us. So, yeah, I guess you can say that. Walk-off on the road.”
Flacco fittingly called the Mile High Miracle the highest high of his career. The momentum carried over to the Ravens’ second Super Bowl, with Flacco throwing 11 touchdown passes without an interception in the playoffs.
The Orioles’ win on Monday night pulled their record to .500 for the first time in four months and put then a half-game behind the Guardians for the third and final wild-card spot. We’ll see if it carries a similar momentum.
Said a thankful Kittredge: “That’s probably the coolest play I’ve ever seen in person. In that scenario, to win the game like that, I’m speechless. I don’t know what to say. That’s incredible.”
Another Mile High Miracle.