Jun 5, 2000 | Q
I followed the link to the list of ten such plays, confident that every single one of them would be by either a 2B or a SS. Imagine my surprise when I saw that two of them had been done by first basemen.
How the heck does a first baseman perform an unassisted triple play?
It’s obvious how a 2B or SS does it: catch a fly, tag second base for a man from second who ran, and wait for and tag a guy coming in from first.
But how does a first baseman do it? Even without the infield fly rule, I can’t think of a plausible scenario which doesn’t have him WAAAY out of position. (Of course, an unassisted double play is easy for a first baseman.)
Three years later, But for ne1 else who would like to know netime…
• Posted by: teddi on Aug 10, 2003, 10:12 PMFirst baseman would catch a liner, tag the runner then tag second before the runner gets back. It may be out of position but to get your name on a list of unassisted triple plays I say its worth it.
http://www.freep.com/sports/thecorner/triple1.htm
is a link from 1999, when there had only been 9 udps in regular-season play in the modern era.
Many triple plays involved baserunning mental errors and hit-and-runs that went awry when a line shot was caught by an infielder.
It was explained how Johnny Neun, a 1st baseman for the Tigers, got his on May 31, 1927. - men on 1st and 2nd and no one out.
The guy on 2nd was very slow-footed.
Line shot is hit to Neun for the first out, who tags the 1st base runner who is in his range for the second out. Mr. Slowfoot thought that the ball was hit for a base hit, and is rounding third ambling for home. Neun skips over to 2nd base and steps on the bag for out #3.
• Posted by: section15 on Aug 11, 2003, 11:30 PM