Bases-loaded triples (Shane Victorino – you are the man!)
Posted by Andy on June 16, 2010
Shane Victorino has his second bases-loaded triple of the season tonight against the Yankees.
This is one of the rarest plays in baseball.
| Yr# | Gm# | Date | Batter | Tm | Opp | Pitcher | Score | Inn | RoB | Out | Pit(cnt) | RBI | Play Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 2010-04-10 | Will Venable | SDP | @COL | Jason Hammel | down 0-2 | t 4 | 123 | 1 | 5 (2-2) | 3 | Triple to CF (Fly Ball to Deep LF-CF); Gonzalez Scores; Blanks Scores; Headley Scores |
| 2 | 1 | 2010-04-14 | Shane Victorino | PHI | WSN | Tyler Clippard | ahead 10-7 | b 7 | 123 | 0 | 6 (2-2) | 3 | Triple to RF (Line Drive to Deep CF-RF); Castro Scores; Ruiz Scores; Werth Scores |
| 3 | 1 | 2010-04-27 (2) | David Wright | NYM | LAD | George Sherrill | ahead 7-3 | b 6 | 123 | 2 | 3 (2-0) | 3 | Triple to CF (Fly Ball to Deep CF-RF); Pagan Scores/unER; Castillo Scores/unER; Reyes Scores/unER |
| 4 | 1 | 2010-05-07 | Starlin Castro | CHC | @CIN | Micah Owings | ahead 6-0 | t 5 | 123 | 2 | 7 (3-2) | 3 | Triple to CF (Line Drive to Deep LF-CF); Lee Scores; Ramirez Scores; Soto Scores |
| 5 | 1 | 2010-05-08 | Carlos Gonzalez | COL | @LAD | Charlie Haeger | ahead 1-0 | t 1 | 123 | 0 | 4 (1-2) | 3 | Triple to RF (Line Drive to Deep RF Line); Fowler Scores; Helton Scores; Tulowitzki Scores |
| 6 | 1 | 2010-05-23 | Roger Bernadina | WSN | BAL | Kevin Millwood | down 0-1 | b 1 | 123 | 2 | 4 (1-2) | 3 | Triple to CF (Fly Ball to Deep CF); Morgan Scores; Zimmerman Scores; Willingham Scores |
| 7 | 1 | 2010-06-07 | Stephen Drew | ARI | ATL | Derek Lowe | ahead 4-1 | b 4 | 123 | 2 | 1 (0-0) | 3 | Triple to RF (Line Drive to Deep RF Line); Snyder Scores; Johnson Scores; Jackson Scores |
Those are the first seven of the year before tonight's. Last year, there were 24 bases-loaded triples, including two each by Denard Span and Bobby Crosby.
June 16th, 2010 at 8:03 pm
In what sense is something that happens 24 times in one year "one of the rarest plays in baseball"?
June 16th, 2010 at 8:17 pm
I see Andy's point, Gerry. Compared to bases-loaded doubles, singles and home runs, bases-loaded triples are rare. Compared to other things -- like switch-throwing pitchers -- perhaps not; but compared to other hitting feats, the bases-loaded three bagger is rare indeed. Just compare the number of grand slam homers to the number of "grand slam" triples {?} in any given year -- at least, any since Babe Ruth made owners shorten fence distances.
June 16th, 2010 at 8:26 pm
In the sense that it's one of the rarest combinations of hits and baserunners.
June 16th, 2010 at 8:27 pm
Frank, that's just because triples are far rarer than home runs in general, without even putting the 'with the bases loaded' qualifier on it. Are they any rarer with the bases loaded than they are in general?
June 16th, 2010 at 8:39 pm
Joe has a point. If you look at the last 5 years, the rarest triple was one with runners on 2nd and 3rd, not the bases loaded kind.
June 16th, 2010 at 8:40 pm
So, I have to admit that when I wrote this, I meant to say one of the most EXCITING. It's also one of the rarest..if you count the 4 types of hit and the 6 types of baserunner situations, that's 24 scenarios and I would assume the bases-loaded triple is among the rarest few types--but it might be the most exciting of all 24, save an inside-the-park grand slam.
June 16th, 2010 at 9:03 pm
I dunno Andy, give me a bases-empty single any day over a bases-loaded triple. 🙂
June 16th, 2010 at 9:17 pm
Shesh, let's argue about everything today...
So it's not THE rarest play, but AMONG the rarest of plays. Get over it.
June 16th, 2010 at 9:45 pm
how about your sacrifice double play?
June 16th, 2010 at 9:54 pm
Inside the park grand slams! Now that's rare!
June 16th, 2010 at 9:57 pm
I saw Glen Hubbard hit an inside-the-park grand slam at spring training in the mid-80s.
June 16th, 2010 at 9:58 pm
Just my point, Joe. Thanks
June 16th, 2010 at 11:32 pm
Woody Williams did this for the Cardinals in 2003 (he also nearly threw a no-hitter in this game):
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN200306050.shtml
Is there anyway to see how often a pitcher has achieved this feat?
June 16th, 2010 at 11:34 pm
Andy, there are 8 types of baserunner situation, not 6.
June 16th, 2010 at 11:48 pm
Incidentally, the career record for bases-loaded triples is 8, held by Shano Collins. He also holds the record for most in a season, with 3 in 1918, but he shares that record with George Burns (goodnight, Gracie), Ted Sizemore, Manny Sanguillen, Alfredo Griffin, Elmer Valo, and Jackie Jensen. Only Collins did it in a shortened season. A few players have had two bases-loaded triples in one game; Sam Thompson, Heinie Reitz, and Willie Clark in the 1800s, Bill Bruton, Elmer Valo, and, most recently, that noted slugger, Duane Kuiper, for Cleveland, in the 1st and 5th innings of the second game of a doubleheader on 27 July 1978.
June 17th, 2010 at 5:09 am
6..8..what's the difference. But seriously, yesterday was a tough day at the office and I was a little off my game, as this thread shows. Thanks for the correction.
June 17th, 2010 at 9:05 am
Tough day at the office, huh? Only two errors in this post, Andy -- you are the man!
June 17th, 2010 at 10:37 am
27 July 1978
No, what's rare is to see a serious baseball fan refer to a game date in continental date notation. That's almost vanishingly rare.
June 17th, 2010 at 11:09 am
I would love to see a post on inside-the-park grand slams, as referred to by Mark above. Most in a season, most in a career.. how many were walk-offs? THAT would be the most exciting play, to me:
Bottom of the ninth, two outs, bases loaded. Batting team is down by three runs. Batter smacks one down the line fast enough to elude the fielder but slow enough that it doesn't rebound off the wall so much as stick there. Runners all score, batter comes around third, he slides - safe! From down three to a victory in one swing and a lot of running.
June 17th, 2010 at 11:12 am
No easy way to search for that on the PI although I think Retrosheet has a list of inside-the-park homers.
June 17th, 2010 at 1:22 pm
How about an inside the park grand slam by a PITCHER? Don't quote me on this one, but I heard that Deacon Phillippe and Mel Stottlemyre are the only ones to do it.
June 17th, 2010 at 3:50 pm
I would think the rarest of the rarest play would be the walk off sacrifice bunt, with a runner on first base. Only seen it in 'Major League' (runner on second) and the Brewers-Cubs game last week. (runner on first)
June 17th, 2010 at 6:37 pm
Kahuna Tuna, I think I picked up the date-month-year notation from reading Strunk and White in 9th grade. Statboy, it is true that pitcher Mel Stottlemyre hit an inside-the-park grand slam home run. It was off Bill Monbouquette, at Yankee Stadium, 20 July 1965. http://sportslifer.wordpress.com/2008/07/11/mel-stottlemyre-and-the-inside-the-park-grand-slam/ agrees that Stott and Phillippe are the only pitchers ever to have done it, and gives some other noteworthy trivia.
June 17th, 2010 at 7:44 pm
Seeing Duane Kuiper's name made me think that he had some kind of record of most at-bats without a home run, at least at some point in his career. Looking at his baseball-reference.com page, I see that he did hit one in 1977. So maybe there was a streak either before this one or after it.
I wondered if it happened to be an inside-the-park home run. He hit it off Steve Stone in the 2nd inning of an August 29, 1977, game in Cleveland against the White Sox. The Indians got an inside-the-park home run off Steve Stone in the 2nd inning of an August 29, 1977, game against the White Sox. Kuiper's home run is not described as such. But two batters later, Andre Thornton hit an inside-the-park homer off Stone. And right after Thornton, Bruce Bochte hit another one out. Thornton homered the conventional way later in the same game.
I didn't think anything about seeing the 27 July 1978 date formatting because a lot of U.S. service personnel and veterans use this format. Plus, it is quite common in the computer industry, which is my line of work.
June 17th, 2010 at 10:21 pm
DoubleDiamond, I think Kuiper's HR claim to fame is that he's the only player with 3000+ at-bats and only one HR.
June 19th, 2010 at 6:59 pm
For years, Jayson Stark would have an item in his Philadelphia Inquirer column about how so-and-so was the active leader in AB without ever having hit a HR. Can't remember who he named over the years, but I always thought Rob Picciolo and/or Mick Kelleher were among them.