Sunday, August 23, 2009

This Could Only Happen to the Mets

Eric Bruntlett of the Phillies became the 15th player in MLB history to pull off an unassisted triple play, as he did it the way it's been done so many times.

The Mets had first and second with no outs and the runners going with Jeff Francoeur at the plate. Francoeur hit a smash up the middle, with Bruntlett running over from second to cover the bag. He caught the ball, stepped on second, and tagged Daniel Murphy as he was coming down from first.

It ended the game, giving the Phillies a 9-7 win. It was some inning for Bruntlett, as he made two errors earlier in the 9th. It's the third time in history it has happened in the ninth inning, and the second time that ever ended a game, the other being in 1927. (Thanks Jere.)

Asdrubal Cabrera of the Indians was the last man to do it, back in May of 2008. Two Red Sox players have done it in their history: George Burns in 1923 and John Valentin in 1994. Here is the list of players who've turned the unassisted triple play, which is as rare as perfect games.

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