Ryan Noda might have made the Athletics’ defensive play of the year Monday night at the Oakland Coliseum.
It nearly was marked down as an error.
In the eighth inning of the A’s 5-2 loss to the Diamondbacks, Arizona shortstop Geraldo Perdomo hammered a ground ball toward Noda at first base.
Noda initially muffed it, and the baseball bounced into foul territory. But to recover and record the out, Noda scampered over and somehow flipped the baseball between his legs towards pitcher Adrian Martinez. Got him.
"I was like, 'You know what? Only play we got, so let's do it,' " Noda told reporters in the clubhouse Monday night. "It turned out good. I definitely would've rather made the routine [play]."
Noda's between-the-legs, no-look flip to first reminded baseball fans of a viral play Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle made in 2010.
Noda's play was marked down as a 3-1 groundout in the scorebook. But that highlight will follow Noda around for the rest of his career, just like it did for Buehrle, who notched four Gold Gloves on the mound over his career.
RELATED: A's reach formal agreement for new stadium at second Vegas site
Athletics
Find the latest Athletics news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.
"A couple of my buddies sent it to me," Noda told reporters when asked if he's seen the replay yet. "It's just a rough fielding play turned into a good play.
"We'll take it."