I watched a home-team baseball game today and saw the damndest double play I've seen in a while. Let me set it up for you.
Bottom of the fourth, one out. Runner on first. Batter hits a ground ball to the shortstop who fields the ball and flips it to second base. Second baseman tags the base, putting the runner out on a force. He takes one step across the base and fires the ball to first. Bad throw. The first baseman misses it, a step ahead of the runner. The runner sees the missed ball and rounds toward second base.
First baseman turns around to retrieve the loose ball. The ball carries past him with enough force to bounce off the infield fence and roll toward his feet. First baseman picks up the ball and fires it to second. Second baseman grabs the ball and tags the runner out two steps from the bag.
How often does a second-baseman get to make a two outs in a double play?
2 comments:
Not often? I don't think I've ever seen that particular play before :-)
Not often, but there are even unassisted double plays on occasion - either the second baseman or shortstop catches a fly and steps on the bag, which gets the hitter and the runner off second.
In the Rockies incredible year where they went to the world series, Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki got an unassisted triple play - it was the above plus tagging the runner from first, who was sent as part of a hit and run play. 3U has only happened 13 times at the major league level, in over a hundred years.
And he didn't even get Rookie of the year.
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