# Rarest plays in baseball (MLB only) **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [May 28, 2014, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-baseball-mlb-only/689505 "2014-05-28T21:49:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-baseball-mlb-only/689505/21 "2014-05-29T14:20:02Z")
> [@MrKnowItAll](#): > > I was going to say “the hidden ball trick”, but apparently it’s been done a lot of times. Gene Michael, the former shortstop and manager of the Yankees, did it 5 times in his MLB career. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-baseball-mlb-only/689505/22 "2014-05-29T14:37:49Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > 1. Ellis Valentine was a right fielder with a phenomenal arm. He says he once threw out a runner at first base from right field, in the minor leagues. > > THAT would be an amazingly unusual play. It’s happened in the majors, too. > **[MLB](https://www.nbcsports.com/mlb)** > > Find all the latest MLB news, live coverage, videos, highlights, stats, predictions, and results right here on NBC Sports. [http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2028054-d-backs-gerardo-parra-throws-out-dan-haren-at-first-base-from-right-field](http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2028054-d-backs-gerardo-parra-throws-out-dan-haren-at-first-base-from-right-field) ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-baseball-mlb-only/689505/23 "2014-05-29T15:03:04Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > How about the recent balk-off win by the Indians over the Tigers? I’ve seen a lot of baseball, and I’ve never seen a game end on a balk. Had it ever happened before? Oddly enough, it’s happened “a lot.” Here’s a [Baseball Reference blog post](http://www.baseball-reference.com/blog/archives/4487) that has a couple in the post and more in the comments. Although, maybe it’s only happened about 15 times or so, which makes it as rare as the unassisted triple play. But it seems like there have been “a lot” of instances. I’m guessing that a balk can be brought on by nerves, and what makes a pitcher more nervous than bases loaded in the 9th (or 13th!) with a tie score? ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-baseball-mlb-only/689505/24 "2014-05-29T15:14:08Z")
> [@robardin](#): > > - Randy Johnson’s fastball hitting (exploding) a bird that swooped down into its trajectory on its way to the plate (ruled a null pitch, not in play, unlike a batted ball) Wasn’t there an attempt to cite him for animal cruelty? ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-baseball-mlb-only/689505/25 "2014-05-29T16:06:35Z")
That was the Dave Winfield bird murder up in Toronto. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-baseball-mlb-only/689505/26 "2014-05-29T19:48:09Z")
[The infamous ball stuck in the Metrodome’s roof.](https://web.archive.org/web/20050831144438/http://davekingman.com/1984.htm) > [@](#): > > With two out in the third inning May 4, Frank Viola of the Twins sent a low fastball Kingman’s way. Kingman hit it up, up, up and right through a seven-inch-wide drainage hole in the first layer of the roof. > > The Twins’ infielders gathered near the mound and peered skyward. Shortstop Houston Jimenez covered his head, fearing he might be bopped by a falling object. > > “It was like a rocket going off,” said Twins second baseman Tim Teufel. “I was waiting for it to come down through the atmosphere. I knew it had to land near the pitcher’s mound somewhere.” > > Umpire crew chief Jim Evans declared the drive a roof-rule double. A’s manager Steve Boros said a ground rule–make that a sky rule–about a ball being lost in the roof never had been discussed. > > “That’s like a hole-in-one in my book,” said Twins first baseman Mickey Hatcher. > > Kingman had never been to the Metrodome before. He called the place a “hitter’s paradise, an unbelieveable hitter’s park.” He proved that later in the game by hitting his 11th homer of the season, a drive to left center off Ron Davis. > > The next day, a stadium official tried to retrieve the ball that was lodged in the roof, but couldn’t reach the real one. So he dropped a substitute through the hole and Hatcher dropped it. > > “Hit my leg,” Hatcher said. “I didn’t even get my glove on it. I felt so dumb.” ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-baseball-mlb-only/689505/27 "2014-05-29T19:57:19Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > [The infamous ball stuck in the Metrodome’s roof.](https://web.archive.org/web/20050831144438/http://davekingman.com/1984.htm) Balls hit the catwalks in Tropicana Field in Tampa all the time. It’s not that unusual, even if it didn’t happen at the Metrodome often. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-baseball-mlb-only/689505/28 "2014-05-29T20:48:49Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Balls hit the catwalks in Tropicana Field in Tampa all the time. Apparently only two ever got stuck up there, though. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-baseball-mlb-only/689505/29 "2014-05-29T22:05:42Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Apparently only two ever got stuck up there, though. Don’t balls get stuck in the outfield ivy at Wrigley Field fairly often? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-baseball-mlb-only/689505/30 "2014-05-29T22:16:14Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Don’t balls get stuck in the outfield ivy at Wrigley Field fairly often? [From Wiki.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrigley_Field#Ivy-covered_outfield_walls) > [@](#): > > Many times a ball has been lost in the ivy when hit towards the outfield fences.\*\* An outfielder will signal that a ball is lost by raising his hands. When this occurs, the umpires will call time and may rule the play a ground-rule double.\*\* If instead the outfielder opts to try to find the ball in the ivy, the ball remains live and any baserunners may advance. . ---
**Author:** ![mshar253](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@mshar253](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mshar253)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-baseball-mlb-only/689505/31 "2014-05-29T22:26:52Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > 1. Ellis Valentine was a right fielder with a phenomenal arm. He says he once threw out a runner at first base from right field, in the minor leagues. > > THAT would be an amazingly unusual play. I feel like I’ve seen that a few times (guys like Vladimir Guerrero or Larry Walker come to mind). I tried to see if I could find a comprehensive list of 9-3 putouts—I failed at that task, but I did find that there was a [9-3 putout that preserved a perfect game](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Major_League_Baseball_perfect_games#Lee_Richmond) (although, as astorian had said above, that may be partly attributed to outfielders playing more shallow in 1879 than they would in the modern era). I’ve seen two of MLB’s 15 unassisted triple plays live (but on TV): Mickey Morandini’s and Eric Bruntlett’s. [Bruntlett’s](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DviV7CYrc-E) UTP, I believe, was the only one to ever end a game—the winning run was at the plate, too. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-baseball-mlb-only/689505/32 "2014-05-29T22:34:36Z")
> [@mshar253](#): > > I’ve seen two of MLB’s 15 unassisted triple plays live (but on TV): Mickey Morandini’s and Eric Bruntlett’s. [Bruntlett’s](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DviV7CYrc-E) UTP, I believe, **was the only one to ever end a game** —the winning run was at the plate, too. There was one back in, the 1920’s,I think. Long time ago at any rate. Wiki says 1927 by Johnny Nuen. ---
**Author:** ![mshar253](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@mshar253](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mshar253)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-baseball-mlb-only/689505/33 "2014-05-29T23:09:05Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > There was one back in, the 1920’s,I think. Long time ago at any rate. > > Wiki says 1927 by Johnny Nuen. I very rarely post, but I did and I immediately said something ignorant. :smack: This thread prompted me to stumble across [this article](http://www.hardballtimes.com/the-12-most-bizarre-endings-to-world-series-games/) of strange endings to World Series games. I don’t know if it would fit the OP’s qualifications of a “play,” but there have been 15 World Series games that have ended on walk-off homers, but only one of those were hit by a player who did not have a home run in the regular season (Scott Podsednik in 2005 for the White Sox). (But what I found particularly interesting about the linked article was that Babe Ruth ended the 1926 Series—in Game 7!—by being thrown out at second trying to steal. Is this common knowledge? I’m trying to wrap my brain about how I’d react if a guy like Ryan Howard—or Albert Pujols, if I were an Angels fan—went rogue and did that. I don’t think I’d be able to recover.) ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-baseball-mlb-only/689505/34 "2014-05-29T23:27:28Z")
Pitcher Tony Cloninger of the Braves had two grand slams and 9 RBIs in one game, vs. the Giants, in 1966. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-baseball-mlb-only/689505/35 "2014-05-30T01:40:14Z")
> [@robardin](#): > > Yeah, off the tip of the glove type plays happen from time to time - usually turning a near homer into a homer (would’ve been off the top of the wall). Fielder assisted HRs where contact is made short of the warning track, pretty rare. An epically named “Dome Run” play off the noggin? I crack up just thinking about the replay in my head 🙂 I saw a play, I forget where, but it was in a park where the stands get pretty close to the foul line. A fly ball hit the right fielder, then bounced into the stands in foul territory. It was a fair ball, because it hit the fielder in fair territory. A fair ball that goes out of play without hitting the ground is a home run, so that was a home run even though it didn’t have home run distance. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-baseball-mlb-only/689505/36 "2014-05-30T02:22:09Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > It was a fair ball, because it hit the fielder in fair territory. A fair ball that goes out of play without hitting the ground is a home run, so that was a home run even though it didn’t have home run distance. That would have been a ground rule double if it wasn’t beyond the foul pole. But there are places like the right field at Fenway where something like that could happen right beyond the Pesky Pole, but that’s home run distance. ---
**Author:** ![Kimble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimble/32/19185_2.png) [@Kimble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimble)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-baseball-mlb-only/689505/37 "2014-05-30T05:40:36Z")
> [@mshar253](#): > > I feel like I’ve seen that a few times (guys like Vladimir Guerrero or Larry Walker come to mind). I tried to see if I could find a comprehensive list of 9-3 putouts—I failed at that task, but I did find that there was a [9-3 putout that preserved a perfect game](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Major_League_Baseball_perfect_games#Lee_Richmond) (although, as astorian had said above, that may be partly attributed to outfielders playing more shallow in 1879 than they would in the modern era). [There was another one](http://m.mlb.com/video/v33278251/kctor-bautista-fires-to-nab-butler-at-first-base/?query=Billy+butler) a few hours ago – Jose Bautista was playing slightly back, if anything, but Billy Butler hit it hard to right and isn’t the fastest guy on the planet. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-baseball-mlb-only/689505/38 "2014-05-30T06:52:43Z")
Ray Chapman is the only player (thus far) to die from a baseball injury. He was struck in the head while batting. John McSherry was a baseball umpire who suffered a heart attack during a game in Cincinnati. On opening day. He was pronounced dead at the hospital. A game against the Chicago Cubs was cancelled when one of the other team’s players, Darryl Kile, was found dead in his hotel room. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-baseball-mlb-only/689505/39 "2014-05-30T08:46:39Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > That would have been a ground rule double if it wasn’t beyond the foul pole. But there are places like the right field at Fenway where something like that could happen right beyond the Pesky Pole, but that’s home run distance. WRONG! That’s what a lot of people thought. But as soon as it touched the fielder, it was a fair ball, and it went out of play without touching anything else, so it was a home run. ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-baseball-mlb-only/689505/40 "2014-05-30T11:08:58Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > WRONG! That’s what a lot of people thought. But as soon as it touched the fielder, it was a fair ball, and it went out of play without touching anything else, so it was a home run. \*7.05.f from MLB official rules (f) Two bases, if a fair ball bounces or is deflected into the stands outside the first or third base foul lines: … (the rule continues with other types of ground rule doubles)\* Wouldn’t this be the right rule to apply for the bounce off fielder into the stands short of the foul pole scenario here? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-baseball-mlb-only/689505.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rarest-plays-in-baseball-mlb-only/689505.md?page=3)