The Rarest Gem in Baseball
So, what exactly is it? An unassisted triple play occurs when a single defensive player makes all three outs in a play without help from any teammates. For this to even be possible, there must be no outs and at least two runners on base. The most common
scenario involves an infielder catching a hard-hit line drive (out one), stepping on a base to get a runner who can't tag up in time (out two), and then tagging a second runner (out three). To call it rare is an understatement. In the entire history of Major League Baseball, there have only been 15 official unassisted triple plays. To put that in perspective, there have been 24 perfect games thrown, a feat that is itself considered legendary. This makes the unassisted triple play arguably the rarest achievement in the sport.
A Perfect Storm of Luck and Instinct
The play is less a product of pure skill and more a convergence of circumstance, luck, and razor-sharp instinct. The setup requires a specific game situation (runners on first and second with no outs is the classic alignment), and the runners must be in motion, often on a hit-and-run play. Then, the batter has to hit a screaming line drive directly at a middle infielder. From there, the fielder has milliseconds to process what just happened. They must have the presence of mind to execute the next two outs in sequence. It's a play that just seems to happen to a player. As shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, who turned one in 2007, said, “It fell right into my lap.” The play is an anomaly, a statistical ghost that materializes without warning and vanishes just as quickly.
Legends of the Lone Triple
Each of the 15 occurrences is a story in itself. Bill Wambsganss turned the only one in World Series history back in 1920, a play so defining that he later joked it was the only thing anyone remembered about his 13-year career. For 41 years, from 1927 to 1968, the feat wasn't accomplished at all, creating a mystique around its past achievers. One of the most memorable modern examples came from Cleveland’s Asdrúbal Cabrera on May 12, 2008. In the fifth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays, he made a diving catch on a liner, stepped on second, and tagged the runner coming from first. The sequence happened so fast that Cabrera, caught up in the moment, reflexively threw the ball into the stands, not immediately realizing he'd just secured one of baseball's rarest treasures.
The Allure of the Impossible
The fascination with the unassisted triple play lies in its violation of baseball's core principles. It's a game of dependencies, where a pitcher relies on his catcher and a shortstop on his first baseman. This play shatters that. It's one person, for one fleeting moment, doing it all. For fans, it’s like seeing a unicorn. It's an “I was there” moment that connects them to a tiny, exclusive piece of baseball history. The play isn't planned or practiced; it simply erupts from the chaos of the game, a brief, perfect moment of order created by a single player. Two of the 15 have even ended a game, the ultimate walk-off by a defender. That sudden, shocking finality is a huge part of its enduring appeal.
