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 “Unassisted Triple Plays” Photo Gallery

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More Fun With Triple Plays…Especially Unassisted Triple Plays!

“Funny thing, I played in the big leagues for thirteen years and the only thing anybody seems to remember is that once I made an unassisted triple play in a World Series.” – Bill Wambsganss

Hey…we’re baseball fans, so useless information and obscure stats are right up our alley, correct?  I’m talking about info that would put “normal” people to sleep in a New York minute. So do I ever have a boatload of ’em for you today! But I know you’ll enjoy reading about them because…well…you’re a baseball fan!

I always enjoy reading and writing about triple plays, so yesterday, in reading the National Pastime This Day in Baseball History website, I discovered that Thursday was the twentieth anniversary of the twelfth unassisted triple play in major league history, pulled off by the Braves’ Rafael Furcal on August 10, 2003. Briefly, here’s what happened:

With Cardinals runners on first and second in the fifth inning, the Braves shortstop makes a leaping catch of pitcher Woody Williams’ liner and steps on second base to double up Mike Matheny before tagging out Raphael Palmeiro, attempting to get back to first base. (1)

There have been only fifteen unassisted triple plays in baseball history, so it’s even rarer than a perfect game. The first was completed by an obscure player named Neal Ball in 1909. The second one, by Bill Wambsganss in the 1920 World Series, is by far the most famous (see below).

According to one source I found, there have been approximately 235,000 major league games since the founding of the National League in 1876. Divide that by 15, and you get one unassisted triple play every 15,666 games! 

Baseball Rarities!

The unassisted triple play, the perfect game, hitting four home runs in one game, hitting the natural cycle, and five extra-base hits in a game are comparable in terms of rarity, but all the others require extraordinary effort and skill. But the unassisted triple play is essentially a matter of luck: a combination of the right circumstances with the relatively simple effort of catching the ball and running in the right direction with it. Troy Tulowitzki, who executed the thirteenth unassisted triple play, modestly said of his feat, “It fell right into my lap.”

The First Unassisted Triple Play

The aforementioned Neal Ball of the Cleveland Naps completed the first unassisted triple play on July 19, 1909.  Cy Young was on the mound that day for the Naps. Other Hall of Famers on the field were Tris Speaker and Elmer Flick. Ball’s feat was against the Red Sox at League Park. In the second inning, shortstop Ball caught Amby McConnell’s line drive, stepped on second base to retire Heinie Wagner, and then tagged outfielder Jake Stahl as he was advancing toward second. The Red Sox won the game, 8-2. 

(In the featured photo, we see the participants in the first unassisted triple play: Amby McConnell, Neal Ball, Heine Wagner, and Jake Stahl.)

Because the play was unprecedented and turned so swiftly, the ball players on the field didn’t know the inning was over and the crowd of 11,000 were unsure of how to react. After the game, Ball remained humble about the feat and simply said that anyone could have made the play. The glove he used is on display at the Hall of Fame.

The Famous 1920 World Series Unassisted Triple Play

The most famous unassisted triple play was turned by the Indians’ Bill Wambsganss in Game Five

of the 1920 World Series. Second baseman Wambsganss caught a line drive hit by Brooklyn’s Clarence Mitchell. He then stepped on second for a putout on Pete Kilduff, and tagged Otto Miller coming from first base. It’s still the only unassisted triple play in postseason play. Later in the game, Clarence Mitchell made history again by hitting into a double play, accounting for five outs in two straight at-bats. This game also saw the first grand slam in World Series history, hit by Cleveland’s Elmer Smith, and the first Series home run by a pitcher, Cleveland’s Jim Bagby, Sr.

Of the fifteen players who accomplished unassisted triple plays, eight were shortstops, five were second basemen and two were first basemen. The shortest time between two unassisted triple plays occurred in May 1927, when Johnny Neun executed the feat less than 24 hours after Johnny

Cooney. Conversely, it took more than 41 seasons after Neun’s play before Ron Hansen performed the feat on July 30, 1968, the longest span between unassisted triple plays. The last player to make an unassisted triple play is Eric Bruntlett on August 23, 2009, fourteen years ago this month. Only Neun and Bruntlett executed unassisted triple plays that ended the game.

Triple Play Fun Facts

• There have been 734 triple plays since 1876, an average of about five per season.
• For a triple play to occur, there must be at least two runners on base and no outs. Only 1.51% of at-bats occur in such a scenario.
• The most likely scenario for a triple play is no outs with runners on first and second, which has been the case for the majority of triple plays, with 5-4-3 triple play being the result. During the 1973 season, third baseman Brooks Robinson started two 5-4-3 triple plays.
• On the other side of the coin, Brooks Robinson is the all-time major league leader for grounding into triple plays, with four in his career.
• On July 17, 1990, the Minnesota Twins became the first (and to date, the only) team in major league history to turn two triple plays in the same game. 
• Here’s a real triple play rarity: On September 30, 1962, Joe Pignatano popped into a 4-3-6 triple play in his last major league appearance. It was also the last game for Sammy Drake and Richie Ashburn, the two runners who were tagged out. Pignatano is the only player to end his career by hitting into a triple play.
• Another oddity: On September 7, 1935, Joe Cronin hit into a “walk-off” triple play, one of only a few in major league history. If you want to read details about it, here’s a link to a write-up I did a couple years ago.
• Whitey Herzog hit into the only All-Cuban triple play in baseball history. You can read about it here.

Unassisted Triple Plays

Here is the list of the 15 unassisted triple plays in major league history:

1.  Neal Ball, Cleveland Indians, SS, July 9, 1909
2.  Bill Wambsganss, Cleveland Indians, 2B, October 10, 1920
3.  George Burns, Boston Red Sox, 1B, September 14, 1923
4.  Ernie Padgett, SS, Boston Braves, October 6, 1923
5.  Glen Wright, Pittsburgh Pirates, May 7, 1925
6.  Johnny Cooney, Chicago Cubs, SS, May 30, 1927
7.  Johnny Neun, Detroit Tigers, 1B, May 31, 1927
8.  Ron Hansen, Washington Senators, SS, July 30, 1968
9.  Mickey Morandini, Philadelphia Phillies, 2B, September 20, 1992
10.  John Valentin, Boston Red Sox, SS, July 8, 1994
11.  Randy Velarde, Oakland Athletics, 2B, May 29, 2000
12.  Rafael Furcal, Atlanta Braves, SS, August 10, 2003
13.  Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies, SS, April 29, 2007
14.  Asdrubal Cabrera, Cleveland Indians, 2B, May 12, 2008
15.  Eric Bruntlett, Philadelphia Phillies, 2B, August 23, 2009.

What would we baseball fans do without useless information and mind-numbing stats!

 Gary Livacari 

Photo Credits: All from Google search

Quote (1) from National Pastime website; other background information edited from Unassisted Triple Plays Wikipedia page.

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