AboutTom Schott Expertise I will deal with the major leagues only from 19th century to present. I`m good on baseball history, records, statistics, ballparks. Try to stick to on-the-field stuff. I`m not interested in personal off-the-field stuff like spouses, girl friends, drug habits, salaries, mascots, etc. If you already know the answer to the question, please don't ask it. I don't want to play "stump the expert."
Experience I've written on the subject, and I have substantial library of resources.
Publications Numerous encyclopedia, newspaper, magazine articles. One book, several book chapters.
Expert: Tom Schott Date: 6/14/2008 Subject: unassisted triple play
Question Hi, my friend thinks this unusual play only happens once every 8-10 years, all teams included.
I say an unassisted triple play happens 5-6 times per year. What, please, would be your best guesstimate?
Jim
Answer Jim,
Your friend is much closer to being correct. I assume we're talking about this happening at major league level. In all of major league history, an unassisted triple play has happened only 14 times--correction, that's since 1901, the so-called modern era of the sport.
You can find the name of the player, the date, and the box scores for most of these events at:
