Unassisted triple play

In baseball, an unassisted triple play occurs when a defensive player makes three putouts by himself in one continuous play. It is one of the rarest individual feats in baseball, even more so than a perfect game. Triple plays are fairly rare in their own right.

The circumstances must be just right in order for an unassisted triple play even to be possible. There must be no outs in the inning. There must be at least two runners on base (usually only two) and they must be running with the pitch, as in a hit and run. All but one unassisted triple play have taken this form: the defender catches a line drive (one out), steps on a base to double off one runner (two outs), and tags a second runner on his way to the next base (three outs). Sometimes the order of the last two is switched. Because the fielder usually has to be between the two runners, most of these plays have been accomplished by second basemen and shortstops, but two were completed by first basemen who were able to reach second base before the returning baserunner, and one by a third baseman.

The feat has only occurred 12 times in modern Major League Baseball history and once in the 19th century. (Compare that to perfect games: 19 modern, two 19th-century).

The unassisted triple play and the perfect game are comparable in terms of rarity, but a perfect game requires an extraordinary effort along with a fair amount of luck. An unassisted triple play is essentially always a matter of luck: the right circumstances, combined with the relatively simple effort of merely catching the ball and running the right direction with it. Regardless, to baseball purists, there is a certain "neatness" to the fact that in the long history of the World Series, the only triple play was of the unassisted variety, and the only no-hitter was of the perfect variety.

MLB unassisted triple plays

19th century

• Paul Hines, May 8, 1878, Providence Grays (vs. Boston)
  • With runners on second and third, Hines caught a line drive from Jack Burdock that the runners thought was uncatchable. When he caught it, the runners had already both passed third. Hines stepped on third, which by the rules of the day meant both runners were out. To make sure, he threw the ball to Charlie Sweasy at second base. It is still debated whether this was truly an unassisted triple play.

Modern era

• Neal Ball, July 19, 1909, Cleveland Indians (vs. Boston)
  • In the second inning, shortstop Ball caught Amby McConnell's line drive near second base, touched second to double off Heinie Wagner, and tagged Jake Stahl as he came from first base.

• Bill Wambsganss, October 10, 1920, Cleveland Indians (vs. Brooklyn)
  • In the fifth inning of game five of the World Series, second baseman Wambsganss caught Willie Mitchell's line drive, stepped on second to retire Pete Kilduff, and tagged Otto Miller coming from first base. Earlier in this same game, the very first grand slam home run in Series play was hit, by Elmer Smith.

• George Burns, September 14, 1923, Boston Red Sox (vs. Cleveland)
  • In the second inning, first baseman Burns caught Frank Brower's line drive, tagged Walt Lutzke off first base and actually ran to second base, sliding in before Riggs Stephenson could return from third.

• Ernie Padgett, October 6, 1923, Boston Braves (vs. Philadelphia)
  • In the fourth, shortstop Padgett caught Walter Holke's line drive, stepped on second base to retire Cotton Tierney, and then tagged Cliff Lee before he was able to return to first base.

• Glenn Wright, May 7, 1925, Pittsburgh Pirates (vs. St. Louis)
  • Shortstop Wright's triple play in the ninth inning ended the game. He caught Jim Bottomley's line drive, stepped on second to double up Jimmy Cooney, and tagged Rogers Hornsby coming from first.

• Jimmy Cooney, May 30, 1927, Chicago Cubs (vs. Pittsburg)
  • In the fourth inning, shortstop Cooney caught Paul Waner's line drive, stepped on second to retire Lloyd Waner (Paul's brother), and then tagged Clyde Barnhart as he approached from first.

• Johnny Neun, May 31, 1927, Detroit Tigers (vs. Cleveland)
  • Remarkably, just the next day, in the ninth inning, first baseman Neun caught Homer Summa's line drive, tagged Charlie Jamieson between first and second and stepped on second base before Glenn Myatt could return.

• Ron Hansen, July 30, 1968, Washington Senators (vs. Cleveland)
  • After a 41-year drought, shortstop Hansen, in the first inning, caught Joe Azcue's line drive, stepped on second to double off Dave Nelson, and tagged Russ Snyder approaching from first.

• Mickey Morandini, September 20, 1992, Philadelphia Phillies (vs. Pittsburgh)
  • After a 24-year lull, second baseman Morandini caught Jeff King's line drive, stepped on second to retire Andy Van Slyke, and tagged Barry Bonds who was running from first base, in the sixth inning.

• John Valentin, July 8, 1994, Boston Red Sox (vs. Seattle)
  • In the sixth inning, shortstop Valentin caught Marc Newfield's line drive, stepped on second base to retire Mike Blowers, and tagged Keith Mitchell coming from first.

• Randy Velarde, May 29, 2000, Oakland Athletics (vs. New York)
  • In the sixth, second baseman Velarde caught Shane Spencer's line drive, tagged Jorge Posada running from first to second, and stepped on second before Tino Martinez could return.

• Rafael Furcal, August 10, 2003, Atlanta Braves (vs. St. Louis)
  • In the fifth, shortstop Furcal caught pitcher Woody Williams' liner with the runners moving, stepped on second to retire Mike Matheny and tagged Orlando Palmeiro before he could return to first.

References

• Cecil Adams, How is an unassisted triple play accomplished in baseball? The Straight Dope, September 21, 1984.