Unique angle shows just how lucky SF Giants are to have Matt Chapman

Sometimes we as fans can take certain players for granted when they are so consistently excellent. However, a unique video angle should make SF Giants fans appreciate what third baseman Matt Chapman does on a daily basis even more.

On Saturday's game against the Texas Rangers, the five-time Gold Glove winner made a very difficult play look routine in the top of the 5th inning. Former Giant Kevin Pillar hit a slow ground ball that easily could have been an infield single, but Chapman charged the ball at full speed and threw a strike to LaMonte Wade Jr. at first base to throw him out.

The unique isolated camera view of Chapman on the play is absolute poetry in motion:

Unique angle of SF Giants third baseman Matt Chapman should remind fans how good he is

Chapman makes so many plays like this that most people, understandably, do not bat an eye. Yet, we need to appreciate how good of a play this is and how many third basemen could not do what he does so consistently.

The wide angle of the play is incredibly impressive as well because you can see that Chapman starts the play almost standing on the outfield grass. He plays as deep at third base as anyone in the game because he has a cannon of an arm and can charge in on the ball better than anyone else with his above-average speed.

He has to cover so much ground so quickly to field the ball on the infield grass in a full sprint, field the ball cleanly, and then make the transition from his glove to his right hand before delivering a seed to first base to get the still-speedy Pillar by a step. If he is a fraction slow charging in on that ball or takes a nanosecond longer to get it out of his glove or does not make a perfect throw then Pillar would have been safe. Yet, he did everything perfectly which is what he does so often.

While Chapman consistently passes the eye test, his advanced defensive metrics are also strong. He grades out as the third-best third baseman in major league baseball when it comes to Outs Above Average.

With the Giants celebrating shortstop Brandon Crawford this past weekend, it should remind us to not take players like Crawford or Chapman for granted. We were spoiled getting to watch Crawford make unreal plays at shortstop for years. Sadly, we will not get to watch these artists at their craft forever.

Thankfully, the Giants have Chapman under contract for the rest of this decade so we can only hope we will be spoiled by what he does on the field time and time again in the years ahead. While it is easy to expect it at this point, it is worth reminding ourselves that we are watching someone really special play one of the most difficult positions in baseball. Let's enjoy it and celebrate it while we can.