That might be true for the first out, but certainly not for the third. It doesn’t make sense to stretch a double into a triple with two outs because it’s probably going to take a hit to score you from either base, and a single is usually enough either way. But if the choice is stopping at third or scoring, with two outs the odds are you’ll get stranded at third so taking a risk is worthwhile.
In the linked story, there were no outs, so stopping at third might have been the better choice in that case. But what’s one out versus a story that people still talk about 60 years later?
Also, remember the game was at Forbes Field, which has crazy big dimensions. It’s 442 to center and the deepest corner (in center) was 462. So it’s a place where triples and inside-the-parkers are more common than in other ballparks.
I just watched some unassisted triple play videos on YouTube. Man, how lame. These players are single-handedly pulling off a very rare sports feat, and they barely crack a grin. Even when they get back into the dugout, the other players are like, “Cool.”
At least on an inside the park home run, there’s a little bit of celebration involved.
That’s baseball culture. You try not to show emotion outside of scoring a run or winning a game. Contrast to most other team sports, where emotions are often exaggerated.
Home run for me. And for the people saying the HR generally requires an uncalled error (or at least a misplay and/or a weird bounce) - I think an unassisted triple play also requires at least one base running error. You catch the line drive and step on the bag for outs 1 and 2 - but third out generally requires that base runner to be at least overly aggressive.
I saw an inside the park HR just last night. It involved a collision between two outfielders (one of whom left the game) so there wasn’t much of a celebration.
Fun fact: the injury depleted that team’s outfield roster (for some reason - independent minor league ball) so they had to insert a pitcher. Poor guy saw so many fastballs pitched at him that he didn’t know what to do.
I was in the stands for (and, in fact, threw out the first pitch at) a game that had a double-replay triple play (not unassisted). It was more confusing than exciting at the time, but still pretty entertaining.
Nevertheless, for the purposes of this poll, I’d still choose the ITPHR.
A UTP is a fluke. Lots of guys on base, and the ball hit just where it needs to be for the fielder to be in position to make a couple of extra easy outs.
An ITPHR is a great play. Big hit, hard baserunning, challenging the defense to make good plays to get you out, and a dash of luck to pull it off.
It’s off topic, but I find it endlessly fascinating that Major League Baseball is obsessed with the length of games and finding ways to shorten them by a few minutes in an effort to increase attendance, but they don’t seem to think that maybe hyping superstar players and having guys show emotion might help a little.
They celebrate a lot more than they used to when winning a game in a walk off, so that’s cool.
Depends on what you mean by walk-off grand slam. I saw one around 1979 or 80 by Dave Cash for the Expos. There were two out, but the game was tied so only the first run was necessary, so maybe you don’t count that as walk-off, although it do. It was an incredibly high fly ball that was coming right towards me in the bleachers. It bounced between the wall and the stands and then bounced towards the stands. A kid directly in front of me reached out to catch the bounce, but dropped it.
I have seen a perfect game (Jim Bunning, June 21, 1964) and a walkoff unassisted triple play (Eric Bruntlett, Aug. 9, 2009). It was one of two walkoff UTPs in the entire history of major league baseball. You can see it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DviV7CYrc-E. Except for the final tag, it was over before I realized what was happening. Bruntlett was running to second to cover the steal, else it would have been a line drive to center and a one run game. But I just didn’t see the catch; the ball was hit too hard.
Incidentally, my younger son not only saw that play, but also another walkoff triple play (Expos, Sept. 1971, a week before he went away to college). As far as I can tell there have been only a couple dozen walkoff TPs of any variety and he has seen two of them. The first one was basically a 543 DP, except that the third baseman was guarding the line against a double because it was the top of the 9th in a close game. So when the batter hit a sharp ground ball down the line, the third baseman caught the ball standing on 3rd and then completed the rest in the usual way.
It’s interesting to note that in both of these TPs, the fielder was not in his usual position, one to cover a steal and the other to cover the line against a double.
I have never seen an ITP homer, but I can see that in some ways it would be more exciting.
For me, I’ve said for many years that I’d love to see an ITPHR. I’ve rarely said I want to see an UTP. For an ITPHR, the excitement starts with that deep hit, and then builds and builds as the runner advances and the fielders realize what’s happening and they try to prevent it from happening. The excitement crescendos, and then the run scores!
It’s times like these, at the home stadium where everyone (or, most) around me is rooting for us to win, that the ballpark becomes almost like a big love fest. The people around my seat, I’ve never met them before and I’ll likely never ever see them again as long as I live, but for those moments we are brother and sister, all harmonious. All’s right with the world and the ballpark is one happy party.
And yes of course it lasts longer than the UTP. But, yeah, a UTP would be fantastic to witness. Definitely.
I’ve been to hundreds of ballgames, and to 29 of the 30 ballparks (only Atlanta is missing), but have yet to witness the ITPHR. But, I consider my life complete because the SF Giants have their World Series Championships.
I can’t wait for baseball to return. I’ve been to every Opening Day since 1996. Summertime isn’t quite right without games on the radio.
