So Tulowitzki has now been involved in two different triple plays this year.

Anyone else done so?

Gary Gaetti, Al Newman, and Kent Hrbek did it twice in one game.

In case anyone cares, the scoring on this has been changed: The second base umpire made a late call that Utley was on the bag when he caught the ball, so it's a 5-4 triple play.

Holliday came up again with two men on in the third, and hit a three-run homer that time. Next time up, I assume he will get a three-base hit.

And Wayne Gross was involved in three triple plays in 1979.

These examples all, of course, involving guys turning, not being turned upon ... Wade Boggs made an out in each of the Twins' triple plays on 7-17-90. Brady Anderson was out in two triple plays in 1992. Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent were both out twice on triple plays in 1998. Ditto Orlando Palmeiro in 2003.

In 2002, Mike Lowell and Derrek Lee were both tripled off and turned a triple play in the same season.

I wonder what the worst lines by pitchers who had triple plays turned behind them have been.

Worst looking triple play since the New York Nine turned a thrill kill against Hoboken

Triple plays are only remotely interesting because of the lotto chances of their occurrence and Jack Brickhouse's "Impossible Dream" call.

I've only ever seen one once, even on TV -- it was one of the ones that Palmeiro was involved in in 2003, actually. The players didn't seem highly sure of what was going on, and the whole thing had an awfully tentative quality about it. Gaetti et al. were probably the only infield that ever really seemed to actually plan for triple plays and turned them in a snappy manner ...

Is it just my impression, or is there a positive feat in baseball that is more likely to occur in a loss than the triple play? I'd really love to see the W-L records of the teams that turned triple plays (I'm pretty sure the Twins lost that game where they turned two against the Red Sox).

Holliday came up again with two men on in the third, and hit a three-run homer that time. Next time up, I assume he will get a three-base hit.

When a guy hits into a triple play, it seems to carry with it no shame. I doubt Holliday is embarrassed that he did it, tonight. It's just one of those rare things in baseball that happens. A double play seems much worse, particularly when he's a slow guy who couldn't make it to first after hitting a slow 5-4-3 ground ball. By contrast, the guys who turn the triple play seem to be genuine sports heroes. Especially so if it is the very rare unassisted triple play. I was at the A's game in 2002 in which Randy Velarde turned one -- and he was feted like a conquering hero.

When a guy hits into a triple play, it seems to carry with it no shame.

It really does depend on how the rest of the game goes.
For example, this poor fellow probably had the worst single games in batting history, and that's all he's going to have as a career.

I doubt Holliday is embarrassed that he did it, tonight.

The fact that the Rockies were up 9-0 by the fourth inning surely assuaged the pain.

For example, this poor fellow probably had the worst single games in batting history, and that's all he's going to have as a career.

August 28, 1996: Traded by the Atlanta Braves with a player to be named later to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Denny Neagle. The Atlanta Braves sent Jason Schmidt (August 30, 1996) to the Pittsburgh Pirates to complete the trade.

From the looks of this transaction, Jason Schmidt was the throw-in on his (Ron Wright's) trade. Is that the way it went down?

From the looks of this transaction, Jason Schmidt was the throw-in on his (Ron Wright's) trade. Is that the way it went down?

Schmidt was a PTBNL on the trade because he was injured at the time and couldn't be traded until he came off othe DL. He was a real prospect, not a pure throw-in. And Ron Wright was a huge power prospect, a really big dude who hit titanic home runs (and was slugging .600 in high-A Durham at the time of the trade). That Bulls team had Wright and Andruw Jones on it and I in my enthusiasm thought I was watching two future Hall of Famers. Anyway, after the trade Wright was slugging .530 as a 21-year-old in AAA, then hurt his back and that was that. His minor league stats show the tragic tale. IIRC the scuttlebutt was that the Pirates did extremely well in the trade, considering that they felt that they absolutely had to trade Neagle.

I remember from the time this post on rec.sport.baseball, where Eric Roush concludes:

The Charlotte Pirates of 2000 could be a pretty impressive team,
though. Wright, Chad Hermansen, Freddie Garcia will make up
3/4th of a powerful infield.

There really is no shame in lining into a double play for the hitter, though there may be for the runner. Lining into a triple play, therefore, really shouldn't be any worse.

I'd say grounding into a 5-4-3 triple play should embarrass a hitter, though the hitter in question is probably used to being embarrassed for being slow already.

Thanks, Judge. I do remember that Wright was a big-time power prospect but it looked funny nonetheless.

And this happened in the top of the first, so I feel bad for the home fans that showed up late. They miss the triple play, and when they do arrive, watch the home team get destroyed.