Ernie Clement finally got his payback, and it came on baseball's biggest stage in July instead of a World Series stage in October.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Dodgers outfielder Andy Pages grounded a ball up the middle, and Clement ranged far to his right to track it down.
He leaped into the air as he faded toward left field, then fired a strike across the diamond to first base for the out.
It was a reversal of fortunes almost a year in the making.
Pages robbed Clement of a walk-off moment in Game 7 of last year's World Series, leaping for a catch on the track in the bottom of the ninth that denied Toronto its championship celebration.
"I had to get him back for what he did to us in the World Series," Clement told reporters after exiting the game. "It's all love. I have a lot of admiration for the way he plays the game."
He didn't stop there either. "Pages just seems like such a good dude, and he made one of the best plays in post-season history, World Series history, given the circumstances. Just getting him back a little bit. It felt pretty good."
Clement's whole night showed why he's an All-Star
That wasn't even his only highlight in the field. Clement also secured a 106.8 mile per hour rocket off the bat of Kyle Schwarber for the final out of the third inning.
At the plate, Clement stayed true to his approach all night, first-pitch swinging in both at-bats, grounding out against Eduardo Rodriguez in the second and against Jesús Luzardo in the fourth.
Neither at-bat produced a hit, but the defense told the real story of Clement's night.
It's a bit like getting the last word in an argument nearly a year after it started, except this one came with a leaping catch instead of a comeback line.
Does one All-Star Game defensive gem actually settle the score after a World Series heartbreak, or does Pages still hold the bigger moment given what was on the line back in October?
Either way, Clement got his moment, on national television, against the same player who denied him one just months earlier.
Was Ernie Clement's All-Star Game play on Andy Pages a fair form of payback for last year's World Series?
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