Unassisted triple play

Bill Wambsganss (top left, in white) completes his unassisted triple play in Game 5 of the 1920 World Series. This marks the only time any triple play has been executed in the postseason.

In baseball, an unassisted triple play occurs when a defensive player makes all three putouts by himself in one continuous play, without his teammates making any assists. Neal Ball was the first to achieve this in Major League Baseball (MLB) under modern rules, doing so on July 19, 1909.^[1] For this rare play to be possible there must be no outs in the inning and at least two runners on base. An unassisted triple play usually consists of a hard line drive hit directly at an infielder for the first out, with that same fielder then able to double off one of the base runners and tag a second for the second and third outs.^[2]

In MLB, a total of fifteen players have fielded an unassisted triple play,^[3] making this feat rarer than a perfect game.^[4] Of these fifteen players, eight were shortstops, five were second basemen and two were first basemen. The Cleveland Indians are the only franchise to have three players achieve the feat while on their roster: Ball, Bill Wambsganss and Asdrúbal Cabrera. The shortest time between two unassisted triple plays occurred in May 1927, when Johnny Neun executed the feat less than 24 hours after Jimmy Cooney.^[5] Conversely, it took more than 41 seasons after Neun's play before Ron Hansen performed the feat on July 30, 1968, marking the longest span between unassisted triple plays.^[5] The last player to make an unassisted triple play is Eric Bruntlett, accomplishing the feat on August 23, 2009.^[6] Only Neun and Bruntlett executed unassisted triple plays that ended the game.^[3]

Background

Bill Wambsganss (far left) standing alongside the victims of his unassisted triple play (from center left to far right) – Pete Kilduff, Clarence Mitchell and Otto Miller.

Most unassisted triple plays have taken this form: an infielder catches a line drive (one out), steps on a base to double off a runner (two outs), and tags another runner on the runner's way to the next base (three outs) (almost universally, the "next base" is the same base on which the infielder stepped to record the second out.) Less frequently, the order of the last two putouts is switched.

It is nearly impossible for an unassisted triple play to occur unless the fielder is positioned between the two runners. For this reason, most of these plays have been accomplished by middle infielders (second basemen and shortstops). Just two were completed by first basemen; in both cases, they were able to reach second base before the returning baserunner. For example, after collecting the first two outs, Tigers first baseman Johnny Neun ignored his shortstop's shouts to throw the ball, and instead ran to second base to get the final out himself. It is possible a third baseman can turn a unassisted triple play with runners at 2nd and 3rd, but this has never happened in baseball.^[7] The only unassisted triple play that did not take one of these forms occurred in the 19th century, under rules that are no longer in effect. (See below.)

The unassisted triple play, the perfect game, hitting four home runs in one game and five extra-base hits in a game are thus comparable in terms of rarity, but the perfect game and the home run and extra-base hit records require an extraordinary effort along with a fair amount of luck. By contrast, the unassisted triple play is essentially always 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 said of his feat, "It fell right in my lap," and as WGN-TV sports anchor Dan Roan commented, "That's the way these plays always happen."

Players who have turned an unassisted triple play

19th century

• Paul Hines, May 8, 1878, Providence Grays (vs. Boston Red Caps) (disputed)
  • With runners on second and third, center fielder Hines caught a line drive from Jack Burdock that the runners thought was uncatchable. When he caught it, both runners had already passed third (according to the Boston Globe account of the game, printed on the 9th). 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 rules would have required either the ball to be conveyed to second base to put out the runner who had been on that base and had not tagged up, or that runner to be tagged. According to the Society for American Baseball Research, the runner coming from second, Ezra Sutton, had not yet touched third base, which would mean that even by 19th-century rules the play was not complete until Hines threw to second, and thus the play was not unassisted.^[8] Ernest J. Lanigan's Baseball Cyclopedia, 1922, which covers professional baseball back to 1876, states on p. 157 that Neal Ball in 1909 was "the first major leaguer to make an unassisted triple play." The Sporting News Baseball Record Book, which covers records back to 1876, likewise does not list Hines' play in the section on unassisted triple plays.

Modern era (in MLB)

Player is active.

Triple play by an outfielder

Walter Carlisle, playing left field for the Vernon Tigers of Pacific Coast League accomplished this feat on July 19, 1911, after catching a short fly ball.

Unfielded triple play

Political columnist and baseball enthusiast Newsweek for April 6, 2009, p. 60, posed one hypothetical way that a triple play could occur with no fielder touching the ball. With runners on first and second and no outs, the batter hits an infield fly, and is automatically out: One out. The runner from first passes the runner from second and is called out for that rule's infraction. Two outs. Just after that, the falling ball hits the runner from second, who is called out for interference: Three outs.

Whenever a batter or runner is out without a fielder touching the ball, rules book section 10.09 provides for automatic putouts to be assigned by the official scorer. In this case, the first out would be credited to whoever the official scorer believes would have had the best chance of catching the infield fly. The second and third outs would be credited to the fielder(s) closest to the points the runners were, when their respective outs occurred. Under the scenario described above, the same fielder (the shortstop, for example) could be credited with all three putouts, thus attaining an unassisted triple play without having touched the ball (or a base or a runner).

Notes

References

General

Specific

External links

• SABR list of unassisted triple plays
• Sports Illustrated: Rarest of feats
• MLB.com: Atlanta Braves history, with video of Furcal's unassisted triple play
• The Seth Swirsky collection has the glove used by Jimmy Cooney when he pulled off his unassisted triple play as well as a ball signed by 14 of the 15 players who have made the unassisted triple play