Makes me think of this scene from “The Bad News Bears” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Adh_8pva10k
In all my years of being a religious baseball fan, I never heard of the term. I even watched that Cabrera highlight before. Won’t forget it now, and will probably hear it all over the place.
By the way, I don’t think that most of the plays in the YouTube video were technically little league home runs. This is assuming that you agree with the “official” and appropriate definition of requiring at least 2 errors.
As I’ve mentioned before on the Dope, I’ve been to one of those 15 unassisted triple play games. (John Valentin in Fenway in 94 I think. Only game I’ve seen there.) And I was looking the other way when it happened.
I think the purest form is at least two errors and the ball is first handled by an infielder, pitcher or catcher.
However, the definition does allow a single error and/or balls hit to the outfield.
I also feel like I’ve been to a game with an inside-the-park-homerun, but it’s not something that would register for me. I mean, the Cubs had an inside-the-parker just a few days ago; Baez had one last year, too; there was one in the playoffs last year (Red Sox), so, while not super common, not something that I’d necessarily remember. (ETA: Looking online, it was Rafael Devers, and the stat on that was that he was the fourth person in history to hit a ninth-inning post-season inside-the-park-homerun, so not that rare if we need to have such a finely delineated stat.)
I think I’d prefer the UTP because it’s so rare, though it’d probably happen too fast to savor.
The Mets last year had two Little League home runs within ten days of each other.
Less interesting to Mets fans was the genuine inside the park HR leading off the 2015 World Series. Cespedes wasn’t ready and Conforto deferred to him even though he had a shot.
:smack: Ah, yes, how can I forget that one? I’m a Cubs fan, and the Mets swept us in the NLCS that year, but I was watching and rooting them along because I pretty much always root for the National League team.
I’ve seen a triple play and many inside the parkers. The latter are way more fun to watch play out, but the rarity of the former is worth talking about after the fact.
An unassisted triple play is so rare I’d want to see it, but I know i’d almost certainly miss it live. It happens so fast and I’d probably be talking or making a beer run.
How many inside the park grand slams have there been?
For me, I was actually in my seat and just happened to be looking the other way, for who knows what reason. All of a sudden there’s this big roar in the stadium, fans stand up and start hi-fiving each other, and I notice the Red Sox trotting back into the dugout. I look at the guy next to me and ask “what happened?” and he just looks back with a look of pity and says “don’t tell me you just missed that.” “What?” “There was an unassisted triple play.”
I knew they were rare. I had no idea at the time they were rarer than perfect games, though, and the game I was at was only the second since the 60s and the third since the 20s to happen! Since then, though, there have been five unassisted triple plays in MLB.
Not sure how authoritative it is, but here’s a list of them up through 2002:
1881-2002 there were 224.
My favorite unassisted triple play occurred in a t-ball game. Bases loaded (very common in t-ball), no outs. Fly ball to short. The shortstop catches it. First out. He sees the runner coming from first base and runs over to tag him. Everyone thought that was the second out but it was actually the third out because the shortstop stepped on second base (the runner who left second base while the ball was in the air is now the second out) as he ran to tag the runner from first. Nobody besides me seemed to understand what had happened.
I don’t know, but I was at the one Aaron Altherr hit in 2015 against the Nats. I think the center fielder was trying to get cute and dove for the ball which allowed it to go past him. I will say Altherr was quick, he was around third before anyone knew what was going on.
Thanks. Combined with the stats in post #3, I thought that seemed like a surprisingly high percentage, but then I noticed the dates. Counting on that list from 1951 onwards there are only 38, which seems about what one would expect.
Show me the Inside the Park Grand Slam ! Bottom of the ninth when the home team is 3 runs behind with two out.
Roberto Clemente July 25th, 1956
Only difference is there were no outs.
This is, so far, the only inside-the-park walk-off grand slam.
I counted myself lucky last month when I went to Detroit for the Yankees game- Aaron Hicks hit an inside-the-park homer, first and only time to see one in person. One off my bucket list, a triple play would be great to see in person, unassisted would be even better, a no-hitter would be awesome (no matter if it’s for or against the team I’m rooting for), and multiply that by 1000 for a perfect game. So one off my bucket list.
That’s quite a story. Thanks for the link.
As cool as it was, he should have stopped at third. They say never make the first or third out at third base, I should think that goes double for making the first or third out at home.