Evan Longoria Bare Hand Catch And Gillette Commercial Explained

Baseball player catches ball during interview was the headline on every channel. It was one of the most viral videos of that time.

The video clip was released on May 6, 2011, and has crossed 19 million views on YouTube till April 2023. The video shows the then Tampa Bay Rays' third baseman being interviewed during batting practice.

His teammates are seen practicing in the background when Longoria is giving answers to the reporter. During that time, a ball hit by his teammate rockets toward the reporter.

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Evan sees the ball coming from the corner of his eye and catches the ball with one hand. The video was an instant sensation as people started praising the player.

Baseball player catches ball during interview was the headline at the time. However, not all people believed it was real, and there were speculations that the catch might be fake.

Ultimately, the catch was scripted, and a marketing strategy by Gillette, a brand Longoria represented then.

Fans Asked Evan Longoria Catch Real or Fake

Evan Longoria catch real or fake was the talking point at that time. Fans around the world hailed Evan as the savior and a hero.

However, some people did not believe that catch was real. This stirred a debate among fans, some supporting the player, whereas others believed the catch was fake.

Many fans believed that the catch was an ad for Gillette. The company has a history of staging these ads, including the famous Roger Federer trickshot.

However, a company representative denied that the video was an ad and praised the three-time Golden Glove winner for his catch.

Evan Longoria Gillette commercial baseball catch was a commercial stunt performed by the company. Evan Longoria performed it.

However, it was not long before people started realizing that the catch was scripted.

The then-Rays player had played a game that afternoon, after which the shaving company drove him to Bradenton. They were there for a Gillette fusion commercial.

During the filming of the commercial, the representatives of the company asked the player to do that clip at the end. In the video, you can see The Rays are taking batting practice.

But there is no batting cage at home plate, no coaches hitting fungoes, and the reporter is also very close to the field. You can also see the Gillette signs all over the background boards.

Further, there seems to be no catcher or safety net to protect the pitcher, which is very unusual for baseball practice. In addition, the sports reporter has no name, neither the screen gives a channel nor a show name.

No channel claims the video, which is strange considering its popularity. And the player has previously done ads for the company.

In 2021, the player himself admitted that the catch was fake. The player made the revelation during a phone call in episode 21 of The Chris Rose Rotation, an MLB player's podcast.

The player mentions that he filmed a commercial for the Young Guns campaign of Gillette for eight hours, which didn't get any publicity, but the fake catch he filmed for five minutes went viral.

All these factors explain the fact that the catch was a fake. It was a well-crafted marketing strategy by the company.

The strategy worked wonders as the video went buzzing instantly. The clip became more popular than the commercial Longoria had filmed that day.