We all know it. Jesse Orosco on the mound, strikes out Marty Barret to clinch the Mets 1986 World Series championship.
Swing and a miss, and Orosco jumps up, arms in the air. After he windmills his arms, he flings his glove into the air.
And it never comes down.
At least, it never looks like it does. Let’s investigate.
Here’s some photographic evidence, culled from video of the event:
There it goes, up in the air.
And here’s the shot after he releases the glove and falls to his knees. I don’t see the glove.
And here’s the Mets running out on the field to greet Orosco (who is off to the left of the frame). Sure, there are a lot of players on the field, but I don’t see a glove.
Let’s enhance.
Enhance.
Enhance.
OK, still nothing.
And here’s another shot of the Mets on the field, and still no sign of the mythical flying glove.
Maybe if we watch a GIF of the glove taking off, we can track it…
Nope, Nada. Maybe if it looked like a Zapruder Tape.
OK, I give up. I’ll never be able to figure it out from this angle. We need a second camera – a second shooter, if you will.
Does such a film exist? Unlikely. Will we ever know what happened to the leather mitt? Probably not.
My theory: The glove took off and never came down. It’s somewhere between Jupiter and Saturn right now.
Update: OR DID IT COME DOWN?