The unassisted triple play is one of the rarest fabulous feats in Major League baseball. It has been accomplished only fifteen times in baseball history and as illustrated in the quote below, it is a legacy that will follow each and every player who has ever accomplished this unbelievable feat.
"Funny thing, I played in the big leagues for thirteen years and the only thing anybody seems to remember is that once I made an unassisted triple play in a World Series." - Bill Wambsganss (Ritter. Lawrence S. The Glory of Their Times: The Story of the Early Days of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It. Harper Collins Publishers. 2 July 2013. Page 215.)
Unassisted Triple Plays in the American LeagueRandy Velarde glove worn during unassisted triple play (Hall of Fame Collection). American League Unassisted Triple Plays | Triple Plays |
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AL # | ML # | Player Name | POS | Age | Date | Box | Inn | Batter | POS | Team |
1. | 1. | Neal Ball | SS | 28.088 | 07-19-1909 | 2nd | Amby McConnell | 2B | Cleveland Naps |
How It Happened: Caught liner. Touched 2nd. Tagged runner coming from 1st. | |||||||||
2. | 2. | Bill Wambsganss | 2B | 26.206 | 10-10-1920 | 5th | Clarence Mitchell | P | Cleveland Indians |
How It Happened: Caught liner. Touched 2nd. Tagged runner coming from 1st. | |||||||||
3. | 3. | George Burns | 1B | 30.226 | 09-14-1923 | 2nd | Frank Brower | 1B | Boston Red Sox |
How It Happened: Caught liner. Tagged man off 1st. Tagged 2nd before man returned. | |||||||||
4. | 7. | Johnny Neun | 1B | 26.215 | 05-31-1927 | 9th | Homer Summa | RF | Detroit Tigers |
How It Happened: Caught liner. Tagged man off 1st. Tagged 2nd before man returned. Game Ending. | |||||||||
5. | 8. | Ron Hansen | SS | 30.117 | 07-30-1968 | 1st | Joe Azcue | C | Washington Senators |
How It Happened: Caught liner. Touched 2nd. Tagged runner coming from 1st. | |||||||||
6. | 10. | John Valentin | SS | 27.140 | 07-08-1994 | 6th | Marc Newfield | DH | Boston Red Sox |
How It Happened: Caught liner. Touched 2nd. Tagged runner coming from 1st. | |||||||||
7. | 11. | Randy Velarde | 2B | 37.186 | 05-29-2000 | 6th | Shane Spencer | DH | Oakland Athletics |
How It Happened: Caught liner. Tagged runner coming from 1st. Touched 2nd. | |||||||||
8. | 14. | Asdrubal Cabrera | 2B | 22.181 | 05-12-2008 | 5th | Lyle Overbay | 1B | Cleveland Indians |
How It Happened: Caught liner. Touched 2nd. Tagged runner coming from 1st. | |||||||||
AL # | ML # | Player Name | POS | Age | Date | Box | Inn | Batter | POS | Team |
Unassisted Triple Plays in the National LeagueJimmy Cooney glove worn during unassisted triple play (Hall of Fame Collection). National League Unassisted Triple Plays | Triple Plays |
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NL # | ML # | Player Name | POS | Age | Date | Box | Inn | Batter | POS | Team |
1. | 4. | Ernie Padgett | SS | 24.219 | 10-06-1923 | 4th | Walter Holke | 1B | Boston Braves |
How It Happened: Caught liner. Touched 2nd. Tagged runner coming from 1st. | |||||||||
2. | 5. | Glenn Wright | SS | 24.90 | 05-07-1925 | 9th | Jim Bottomley | 1B | Pittsburgh Pirates |
How It Happened: Caught liner. Touched 2nd. Tagged runner going back to 1st. | |||||||||
3. | 6. | Jimmy Cooney | SS | 32.279 | 05-30-1927 | 4th | Paul Waner | RF | Chicago Cubs |
How It Happened: Caught liner. Touched 2nd. Tagged runner coming from 1st. | |||||||||
4. | 9. | Mickey Morandini | 2B | 26.152 | 09-20-1992 | 6th | Jeff King | 3B | Philadelphia Phillies |
How It Happened: Caught liner. Touched 2nd. Tagged runner coming from 1st. | |||||||||
5. | 12. | Rafael Furcal | SS | 25.290 | 08-10-2003 | 5th | Woody Williams | P | Atlanta Braves |
How It Happened: Caught liner. Touched 2nd. Tagged runner going back to 1st. | |||||||||
6. | 13. | Troy Tulowitzki | SS | 22.201 | 04-29-2007 | 7th | Chipper Jones | 3B | Colorado Rockies |
How It Happened: Caught liner. Touched 2nd. Tagged runner coming from 1st. | |||||||||
7. | 15. | Eric Bruntlett | 2B | 31.147 | 08-23-2009 | 9th | Jeff Francoeur | RF | Philadelphia Phillies |
How It Happened: Caught liner. Touched 2nd. Tagged runner coming from 1st. Game Ending. | |||||||||
NL # | ML # | Player Name | POS | Age | Date | Box | Inn | Batter | POS | Team |
Unassisted Triple Plays | Bold = Occured in World Series | Research by Baseball Almanac |
On May 8, 1878, Paul Hines was credited with a triple play which was correct for the "rules in play." However, by modern rules it was an unassisted double play with a throw to second base for the third out.
Bill Wambsganss Triple Play during 1920 World Series
(Source: Hall of Fame Collection)
Did you know that George Burns and Johnny Neun are the only two first basemen in Major League history to turn an unassisted triple play? Breaking down all fifteen instances of unassisted triple plays by position, there have been two by first basemen, five by second basemen, and eight by shortstops in Major League Baseball history.
Did you know that two of the unassisted triple plays occurred as the last play of a game? On May 31, 1927, Johnny Neun secured a 1-0 home win for the Detroit Tigers with an unassisted triple play in the top of the ninth inning. And, on August 23, 2009, Eric Bruntlett wrapped up 9-7 win by the Phillies over the Mets with an unassisted triple play in the bottom of the ninth inning.
On October 10, 1920, Elmer Smith hit the the first grand slam in World Series history. What is the relevance? During that same game Wamby also turned the first & only unassisted triple play (Read the entire Cleveland Times article on our 1920 World Series page) in post season history.