--- title: Watch This Baseball Pitcher Pull Off a 'Matrix' Move description: During a game between the Astros and the A's, pitcher Collin McHugh had a moment from 'The Matrix' in real life as he evaded the ball. canonical: https://time.com/5572386/baseball-pitcher-matrix-move/ author: Rachel E. Greenspan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-04-17T15:15:54.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:47:07.750Z og:title: You Need to See This Pitcher's 'Matrix' Move in Slow Motion og:description: Watch Astros pitcher Collin McHugh evade the ball by an inch og:url: https://time.com/5572386/baseball-pitcher-matrix-move/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte26298c3c5e7d1cc/6989487cdb298714de2622d3/matrix-move-baseball-pitcher-astros.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: This Baseball Pitcher Pulled Off a Matrix Move og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: You Need to See This Pitcher's 'Matrix' Move in Slow Motion twitter:description: Watch Astros pitcher Collin McHugh evade the ball by an inch twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte26298c3c5e7d1cc/6989487cdb298714de2622d3/matrix-move-baseball-pitcher-astros.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Give This Baseball Pitcher Who Pulled Off the _Matrix_ Move a Trophy Immediately > Sponsored content. 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The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ## Video: The Matrix (1999) Official Trailer [Watch (HLS stream): The Matrix (1999) Official Trailer](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/jmgi9JDp.m3u8) (2:19)  _Published 2019-04-17. The Matrix (1999) Official Trailer_ by [Rachel E. Greenspan](https://time.com/author/rachel-e-greenspan/) ## Rachel E. Greenspan Apr 17, 2019 3:15 PM UTC  Houston Astros starting pitcher Collin McHugh delivers during the Major League Baseball game between the Houston Astros and the Oakland Athletics at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on April 16, 2019 in Oakland, Calif. Houston Astros starting pitcher Collin McHugh delivers during the Major League Baseball game between the Houston Astros and the Oakland Athletics at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on April 16, 2019 in Oakland, Calif. Cody Glenn—Icon Sportswire/Getty Images by [Rachel E. Greenspan](https://time.com/author/rachel-e-greenspan/) ## Rachel E. Greenspan Apr 17, 2019 3:15 PM UTC Talk about bending over backwards. During Tuesday night’s game between the Astros and the Oakland Athletics in Oakland, Calif., some kind of miracle — or a moment from the film _The Matrix_ — seemed to happen. The A’s first baseman Kendrys Morales hit a line drive right at pitcher Collin McHugh’s head. But, by the force of magic, witchcraft or an angel, McHugh evaded the ball. > [](https://twitter.com/NBCSAthletics/status/1118344708504182784) With the ball coming towards McHugh with that kind of velocity, the slow-motion video of the moment is breathtaking. McHugh slid his body backwards as the ball sliced between his mitt and his face. It was far too close for comfort, but somehow, it didn’t touch him. Astros home plate umpire, Chris Guccione, reportedly told the pitcher he simply had to watch the video immediately. “‘You’ve got to watch it. It went right here.’ So we both turned around and watched the big screen,” McHugh said after the game, according to [NBC Sports](https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/athletics/astros-pitcher-collin-mchugh-does-matrix-impression-win-over). “He was like, ‘Dude, I don’t know how you did that.’ I don’t either. 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