In the bottom of the 9th or later, with the go ahead run on 3rd and less than 2 outs is when most managers will pull their Outfielders in very shallow as a long fly out would still win the game. If bases were loaded and no one out, I guess a 2-7-9 triple play could happen, but I would still go with RealityChuck’s probably impossible. At very least it is highly improbable.
Jim
Well, what if you could theoretically catch it? It seems impossible, but in conjunction with a rugby lineout-style lift, it could be done.
Catching* it would be ok, but a rugby style lift would be unsportsmanlike conduct.
NCAA 9-3-5-b:
b. No defensive player, in an attempt to block, bat or catch a kick, may:
By the rules, yes. But I can’t see how it would ever happen in a game. With runners on first and third and no outs, any manager who would give a green light to the runner on third but not the runner on first, rather than calling a double steal, would probably be immediately lynched by the fans after they saw his incompetence set up a stupid triple-play.
Wouldn’t it be (slightly) more likely that the manager puts the double steal on and the runner at 1st misses the sign, setting up the triple play?
I saw a clip of a 4-4-4 triple play in a high school game. Has there been an unassisted triple play in the majors?
It happens.
damn it
It’s rare, but there have been 13 of them in the majors. I was at the game where John Valentin had an unassisted triple play, but I was looking the other way when it happened. :smack:
As I indicated, the runner on third decided to go on his own. But the runner on first missing the sign would also work.
I can’t imagine how more than one outfielder would be able to cover a base for putout, though, and a 7-8-9 triple play couldn’t happen in any plausible scenario.
In curling, it’s the 8-ender.
Actually, I believe a double hat-trick is four wickets in four balls (cite.) No idea how often it’s ever been achieved though.
Nice catch, but c’mon… in the history of college football? I give you: The Play
Here are the details… (Go Bears)
Believe it or not, the dropped-third-strike double/triple play wasn’t eliminated (by the rule you cite) until 1887.
This seems surprising at first, since the play seems so easy that you would think catchers would attempt it every time. Two considerations, however: (1) Strikeouts weren’t as common in the early days; in the 1880 National League there were only 3 per team per game. (2) Before the advent of fielder’s gloves, whipping the ball around the infield wasn’t as routine as it is today.
The only situation where the double play was routine was if the bases were loaded, when the catcher could step on the plate and throw to first. But if a batter were clumsy enough to strike out with the bases loaded and less than two outs, those were the breaks.
The combination of overhand pitching, curve balls, and fielders’ gloves necessitated the 1887 rule change.
Homrun that bounced off Consecos head into the seats is my favorite.
Nice catch? Nice catch?! I doubt if that catch has ever been made before in the history of football. As for the Play, yes, I know. It was a fine and momentous play, and I fully acknowledge that it belongs in this thread. Fortunately, the thread is not limited to one play per sport.
Actually, i’m not sure that it is the rarest play.
A few weeks ago, there was a 5-7-3 put-out, probably the first in pro baseball history.
I can’t remember the game, but it went like this:
Batter hit a ferocious line drive to third base. The batter thought the ball had been caught and started to walk toward the dugout. But the third baseman had not caught the ball; it had hit his glove, and deflected into the outfield, rolling to the leftfielder. By the time the batter realized his error and began to run to first base, the leftfielder had enough time to throw to first base for the out. 5-7-3.
On ESPN, Tim Kurkjian said that their statisticians were going through the records books, had already gone back to the 1920s, and had so far not been able to find another 5-7-3 put-out.
As an Orioles fan, i was going to bring up that statistic. It’s not the only time it’s happened, though. According to this page, it’s happened on two other occasions, in 1959 and 1962.
It turns out that you’re quite right. It’s proving hard to track down instances on Google, and even the online Guinness Book of Records is no help. Four in four has been done very occasionally, but never at Test level.
Another one i forgot. Not exactly a play, but a result.
The Tied Test in cricket.
It’s only happened twice in the history of the sport, between Australia and the West Indies in 1960, and between Australia and India in 1986.
For those unfamiliar with cricket or its terminology, i should note that a tie and a draw are not the same thing. You can read about the difference here. A draw is actually quite a common result.
Minor bump just to say that I have discovered that Pat Pocock, for Surrey versus Sussex in 1972, took four wickets in four balls; a fifth wicket with the sixth; a sixth wicket with the ninth; and a seventh wicket with the eleventh. The last two - six in nine balls and seven in eleven balls - are both records.