ANAHEIM, Calif. -- If you didn't see first baseman's J.T. Snow's catch in Game 1, don't worry. You will. This one was so good, it not only deserves repeated showings on SportsCenter and ESPN Classic, it ought to be shown on the Cartoon Network, too.

	J.T. Snow slipped going after Tim Salmon's foul ball, but still recovered in time to make the catch.

With runners at the corners, one out and San Francisco pitcher Jason Schmidt laboring to protect a 2-1 lead in the fifth inning, Tim Salmon hit a high foul popup down the first base line. As Snow ran under the ball to catch it, he slipped on the artificial surface in front of the dugout and did one of those classic Fred Flintstone flops where he slips on Pebbles' roller skate, flies through the air and lands flat on his back so hard that half of Bedrock shakes. You almost expected to hear Snow holler, "WILMAAAA!!!!"

Instead, he quickly but calmly picked himself up, said, "I've got it" to catcher Benito Santiago and caught the ball for a crucial out that helped the Giants escape with the lead.

"That was a huge play," Schmidt said. "To fall down and pop back up like that and make the catch? That bailed me out. Who knows what happens if he doesn't make that catch. Maybe there's a single or a home run."

Yet Snow spoke about the catch in such a matter-of-fact manner that it was as if he practiced it during fundamental drills in spring training. OK, everyone. Today we're going to work on catching popups while tripping over lawn sprinklers.

"It helped that I fell on my backside because I could still look at the ball," Snow said. "I never lost track of it. And I was close to the dugout so I was able to grab the netting and help myself up. I don't know if Benito could have caught it if I didn't, but I had called him off and when you call someone off, you can't expect him to suddenly catch it."

But who expected Snow to grab it? Had anyone seen anyone make a catch like this outside Hanna-Barbera?

"When I was a kid, I saw Roberto Clemente do that at Dodger Stadium," Giants manager Dusty Baker said. "He fell down like that and flipped his sunglasses down and made a play like that on his back."

Sure, as World Series gems go, Willie Mays' catch off Vic Wertz was more exciting, but Willie had the advantage of remaining on his feet the entire play.

"When people think back on this World Series years down the road, that's the play they'll talk about," Giants shortstop Rich Aurilia said. "That's why he has six Gold Glove trophies in his locker."

Of course, there are times when even a great fielder such as Snow would rather talk about his hitting. And Saturday was one of those times. And who can blame him? Playing his first World Series game in the stadium in which he virtually grew up -- "We used to buy cheap tickets and then sneak down to the good seats until the guards chased us out" -- against the team with whom he began his career, Snow followed up his catch by hitting a two-run homer in the sixth that was the difference in San Francisco's 4-3 victory over the Angels.

	“	When people think back on this World Series years down the road, that's the play they'll talk about. That's why he has six gold glove trophies in his locker. ”
		— San Francisco's Rich Aurila on play on foul ball made by J.T. Snow.

"It gets a little frustrating that all they bring up is my defense, defense, defense and the offense gets overlooked," he said.

Well, it was easy to overlook Snow's offense this season, given that there was precious little of it. He hit a career-low six home runs and batted .246, his lowest average since 1994. He hit so poorly that the Giants benched him in mid-June before returning him to the everyday lineup after the All-Star break.

"If I get 550 at-bats, I know what I'm capable of doing," Snow said. "I was a guy used to playing every day, then I went basically a month and a half without playing. In my mind, I was still swinging the bat well. I looked at the tapes and I hit a lot of balls right on the button that people caught.

"But I've been through that. I remember when I was with the Angels and they were going to give the job to Eduardo Perez. And then they traded me in 1996 and in 1998 Charlie Hayes played a lot and I had to fight to stay in there."

Snow has been productive in the postseason, hitting .286 with two home runs and seven RBI. He had a huge double in Game 4 of the championship series and another big hit when he homered off lefty Jarrod Washburn in the sixth inning Saturday. Snow has often struggled against lefties -- his career average is .226 and he has only 24 home runs against them, which made him drop switch-hitting in mid-career -- but he drove a 3-1 fastball from Washburn into the bleachers in left-center to silence the crowd and give the Giants a 4-1 lead.

"I was actually more excited because I hit it to left-center," Snow said. "I kept telling myself, drive the ball to left-center and that's what I did. And it went out."

So, it was a big night for the local kid. A home run to give his team its first World Series victory in 40 years and a catch that people will talk about for another 40. And who knows what's up for tonight? A double play with Barney Rubble and Joe Rockhead?

"I'm proud of our winning percentage when I'm in the game," Snow said. "There's lot more involved to the game than the stats people try to figure out at home."

Jim Caple is a senior writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached at cuffscaple@hotmail.com.