Clarke honoured with MLB Play of the Year

Toronto Mets’ alum and Oakland A’s centre fielder Denzel Clarke’s home run-robbing catch at Anaheim Stadium on June 9, 2025 inspired this ToppsNow baseball card.

November 14, 2025

By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

Oakland A’s centre fielder Denzel Clarke won the Capital One Premier Play of the year at the MLB Awards at the Chelsea Theater in Las Vegas on Thursday night.

The Pickering, Ont., native captured the honour for his Spiderman-like, wall-climbing grab that robbed Los Angeles Angels first baseman Nolan Schanuel of a home run in the first inning of a game at Anaheim Stadium on June 9.

“Sometimes I look back at it, and I'm like, 'That's me?!'” Clarke told MLB.com about his award-winning catch, prior to the MLB Awards last night. “Other times I look at it, and I'm like: ‘That was kind of nasty.’ And then sometimes I'm kind of just like: ‘That's just me playing baseball.’”

That play earned Clarke his second of a record three consecutive MLB Electric Play of the Week awards this season.

Prior to his first MLB call-up on May 23, Clarke batted .286 and posted a .436 on-base percentage in 31 games for the triple-A Las Vegas Aviators.

After his promotion, he made several highlight reel catches in centre field for the A’s before he suffered what proved to be a season-ending abductor strain injury on July 20.

In total in 47 major league contests in 2025, Clarke batted .230 with three home runs, eight doubles and two triples.

Selected by the A’s in the fourth round of the 2021 MLB draft, the Toronto Mets and Junior National Team grad just completed his fifth pro season.