MLB Twitter goes crazy after Alek Manoah takes a smooth comebacker in spring training game

Alek Manoah plucked an absolute blinder in Spring Training while pitching for the Toronto Blue Jays against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Manoah threw 1 2/3 innings in his spring debut, allowing one run on three hits while striking out a pair as the Blue Jays and Pirates played out to a two-all tie.

Fans were impressed by the star pitcher's catch as they expressed their reactions on Twitter.

Alek Manoah was highly impressive last season as the leading pitcher for the Blue Jays. The 25-year-old has been with the franchise since 2021 when he was picked as the 11th overall draft pick in the MLB Draft. In 2022, he was in close contention for the Cy Young Award, finishing third in voting behind Justin Verlander and Dylan Cease.

The Blue Jays were hoping to settle their pitcher in the squad in Spring Training, and Manoah grabbed a flying ball hit straight at him by Pirates' Canaan Smith-Njigba with genuine ease and amazing reflex.

You going for that Gold Glove, @Alek_Manoah6? 👀 https://t.co/glrUeItoxd

However, fans were genuinely impressed by the pitch. One fan commented, saying that baseball action was truly back after this.

By god, baseball is back twitter.com/bluejays/statu…

There were plenty of one-word descriptions,ranging from "Nasty" to "Smooth".

Nasty twitter.com/bluejays/statu…

Smooooooth twitter.com/BlueJays/statu…

There were more reactions from Toronto fans who were thrilled at the sight of their pitcher taking a comebacker.

This is how we do it. 😤 twitter.com/BlueJays/statu…

The swag thou @m_lucchin13 @HopeHouse42069 twitter.com/BlueJays/statu…

I was watching this while in class and almost yelled twitter.com/BlueJays/statu…

That’s my ace twitter.com/bluejays/statu…

Fans were also impressed by the drop and leave by Manoah after he took the catch, comparing it to a bat drop.

the effortless catch and the drop… what a beauty. twitter.com/bluejays/statu…

But just like every other fan react, there was one fan who tried to spoil the mood by stating that taking a comebacker is one of the easiest plays in the sport.

i’m not gonna say this is one of the the easiest plays on a baseball field because people will get mad at me. #ThankYouNate twitter.com/bluejays/statu…

Toronto Blue Jays were carefully monitoring Alek Manoah's workload

The Blue Jays didn't want Manoah to be pitching more than 40 times. Alek Manoah only pitched 37 times, looking to get comfortable in his own skin again. He will be looking to repeat the same efforts that brought him success last season and bring back this variety of pitches.

“I feel really good about that pitch to both sides of the plate, both righties and lefties,” Alek Manoah said after the game. “I threw some good ones to lefties, then threw some to righties that were kind of down. I’ll continue to throw it and continue to build confidence with it.”

If he does prove to be this good on the mound, Alek is definitely going to be one of the early contenders for the Cy Young Award and answering his team's question, he might win the Gold Glove Award, too.