Things I haven't seen at the ballpark before

[TranaGreg]

A straight steal of home.

Yesterday I'm sitting down the right field line at the Rogers Centre, still in the infield tho, watching the Jays lose to the Red Sox (crazy game, but that's another story). Anyway, 2 out, the Sox have Brock Holt at third, and Leon at first, Bradley at the plate. Jays are up by one run, 8-7 in a slugfest. Aaron Loup, lefthander is on the mound. Right after he reads the sign from Russell Martin he stands straight up, looking at first as lefthanded pitchers do, and instantly Holt breaks for the plate. It was a very cool moment, one of those - wow, he's actually trying this - moments. Loup is yelled at by his teammates, sees what's going on (he later said Holt was about halfway home when he first saw him), steps off the rubber and in one motion throws a bullet to Martin who has come out in front of the plate. It was a bang-bang play but Martin was able to lay the tag on just as Holt dove into the plate. Out.

A very cool four seconds (or so) to see in person.

[rhd]

I once saw an unassisted triple play. It was at CitiField in NY, during the first year it opened. The Mets were down a few runs in a high-scoring game in the 9th inning. They got a rally going, and were threatening to tie the game. There were runners on 1st and 2nd (I dont think anyone was on 3rd, but it doesnt matter). A batter hit a line drive and an infielder made a play on the ball and a couple of seconds later everyone was walking off the field. It occurred so fast that I didnt know what just happened. I knew it had to have been at least a double play, but I thought "were there no outs or 1 out?". After thinking for a minute, I concluded that there were no outs before this play. The way I remember it, the SS caught the line drive, his momentum took him toward 2B where he tagged the base to force out the runner on 2B and continued on to tag out the runner coming down the line from 1B. But the records indicate it was a 2Bman (Eric Bruntlett) that made the play. I also remembered the visiting team as being the Cubs (it was the Phillies). There have been only 15 unassisted triple plays in modern MLB history (rarer than a perfect game), and this was the most recent one. Also, it was only the 2nd such play to end a game (the other was from 1927). They've all happened in a similar fashion, w an infielder catching a line drive, tagging 2B and tagging a runner.

[TranaGreg]

That's funny, as a SS who played a fair bit of competitive ball I was always aware when there were men on 1st & 2nd with nobody out that I could pull off an unassisted triple play if a line drive was hit in the right spot & the runner on first didn't stop ... never got to execute it tho & I don't think I've ever seen it in the highlight reels either.

On a side note, your story is an interesting commentary on the human mind's ability to recall facts ... or inability! Now that I think about it, maybe it was Ortiz who tried to pull that steal of home off ... oh wait, good thing I inserted a pic ...

[rhd]

On a side note, your story is an interesting commentary on the human mind's ability to recall facts ... or inability!

Yeah, how about that. I actually never actually saw him tag either the runner or the bag - I just saw him run towards 2B and then jog off the field. Like I said, it developed so fast I didnt know what happened. I think maybe the runners were moving on the play and the guy on 1B might have been on or near 2B already when Bruntlett got there so he tagged the base and the runner about the same time. I'd really like to see a video of this so I could see what I missed when I "saw" it live. Kind of makes you appreciate the job umpires do more but also underscores the need for replay, too.

[rhd]

I'd really like to see a video of this so I could see what I missed when I "saw" it live.

Just watched it. I can see why I thought the SS was the one who made the play, as his momentum carried him toward the play at 2B. I was seated in the upper deck on the 3B/LF side, so from that angle it's hard to tell where exactly the ball is going when it's hit up the middle. The runners were in motion on the play. The hitter at the plate was the potential winning run. Frustrating game for the Mets.

I remember also that Oliver Perez, who was on my roto team at the time, made another stinker of a start in this game. That I definitely DO remember correctly .