The unthinkable bounce that led to Luke Raley's inside-the-park home run had MLB fans in awe

There aren’t many plays in baseball that are more exciting than an inside-the-park home run. So much needs to go in the batter’s favor just to make it possible. That couldn’t have been more true for Rays outfielder Luke Raley.

He had himself one of the wilder inside-the-park home runs we’ll ever see.

Batting for Jose Siri in the sixth inning, Raley turned on first-pitch slider from Ross Stripling that narrowly stayed in play off the brick wall to right-center field at Oracle Park. As close as that ball was to leaving the park on the fly, it didn’t matter because Raley benefited from an absolutely preposterous bounce.

INSIDE-THE-PARK HOME RUN ALERT pic.twitter.com/piGtsMeRXS

— Bally Sports Sun: Rays (@BallyRays) August 16, 2023

The ball ricocheted off that brick wall and bounced perfectly on top of the separate padded wall in center field. It then continued towards left field as Wade Meckler and Michael Conforto helplessly chased after the ball.

Now, Raley might not be Bobby Witt Jr. on the base path, but he’s a very capable runner. He ranks in the 86th percentile in sprint speed this season, and that was more than enough to cruise around the bases and score standing up.

You could give Raley a million tries, and he’ll probably never get a bounce off the wall like that again. No wonder MLB fans were stunned.