Washington's Triple Play To Remember
PLUS: EDITOR CONTEMPLATES POTENTIAL WALK-UP MUSIC
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Pregame Pepper
Did you know…
Houston’s Jose Altuve could join Mike Trout and Clayton Kershaw as the only active players with at least 10 All-Star selections . . .
Cincinnati’s Chase Burns, a 22-year-old rookie, is the first starting pitcher of the Expansion Era (since 1961) to strike out his the five batters he faced in the major leagues . . .
If the Braves sign Spencer Turnbull to replace the injured Chris Sale, they’ll have three Spencers in their rotation, which already has Spencer Strider and Spencer Schwellenbach . . .
The Tampa Bay Rays, playing in a minor-league park following the implosion of the Tropicana Field dome, have begun talks with MLB about where to play postseason home games . . .
Just a coincidence: Atlanta rookie pitcher Didier Fuentes, 20, is not named after Bob Didier, catcher for the 1969 NL West champion Braves . . .
The first slugger to sign up for All-Star Home Run Derby at Atlanta’s Truist Park July 14 is hometown hero Ronald Acuña, Jr., who is staging a late push to make the National League All-Star team again . . .
Acuña accepted a painting from famed baseball artist James Fiorentino before the CitiField game Wednesday in honor of his 2023 Latino Sports Player of the Year award, presented a year late because the slugger sat out most of 2024 rehabbing a torn ACL . . .
Fiorentino said he was thrilled when introduced to Braves manager Brian Snitker in the dugout before the game.
Leading Off
Nationals’ triple play turned out to be another MLB first
By Andrew Sharp
On April 25, 2025, Jesse Winker of the Mets hit a low liner that was ruled caught in the air by Nationals first baseman Nathaniel Lowe, who turned it into a triple play. That was the first ever turned at home by the Nationals, but another aspect of the play set it apart from any other in the annals of the game.
On that night in D.C., Washington’s third post-1900 team joined the first two in turning a record-matching triple play. This also was one of three that had never been done anywhere before. More on that later.
At Nationals Park, righty Jake Irvin had a 2-0 lead when he started the fourth inning by yielding back-to-back singles. The next batter was Winker, a National a year ago. On July 4, 2024, Winker had hit a solo home run to give Washington a walk-off win over the Mets before his deadline trade to New York. He wouldn’t be a hero this time.
Thinking the ball would hit the ground, the runners took off. They were unaware that first base umpire Alfonso Marquez, who was behind Lowe, ruled the play a clean catch for an out. Lowe threw to shortstop CJ Abrams, who tagged second base for the second out and then tagged the runner from first, who arrived at the bag after the throw, to complete the triple play.
A video replay showed Winker’s hard hit seemed to have barely skipped off the dirt before landing in Lowe’s glove. After recording the third out, Abrams threw the ball back to Lowe at first, just in case the catch was overturned. The return throw easily beat the runner, assuring at least a double play.
Thanks to Jayson Stark of The Athletic, it turns out that this was not the first time Winker had hit into a triple play started by Lowe. The first baseman told Nats’ radio voice Dave Jageler that it “felt deja-vu-ish to him.” No wonder.
On April 30, 2023, in a Mariners-Rangers game, as former Ranger Lowe seemed to recall, he started a triple play on a ball hit by Winker. With help from Katie Sharp at Baseball Reference, Stark was able to report that the same fielder and batter never before had been involved in two triple plays.
Fly balls and line drives in the infield are not reviewable, although another umpire could have overturned Márquez’s call. Nobody did, despite Mets manager Carlos Mendoza’s vehement protest.
The Nationals had turned triple plays just twice before in the club’s 20-year tenure in D.C. The others were on July 29, 2016, at San Francisco and May 20, 2022, at Milwaukee. So triple plays are rare enough. Yet the first two Senators’ teams and now the Nationals seem to have been involved in more than their share of rare ones.
The 2016 Nats’ triple play against the Giants was the 37th-ever by a relief pitcher facing his first batter. Sammy Solis came in with the bases loaded. On an 0-1 pitch, Brandon Crawford hit a sharp liner to Ryan Zimmerman at first. He stepped on the bag for the second out, then threw to third to nail the runner there.
On April 29, 1914, in Philadelphia, Doc Ayers of Washington became the first reliever ever to retire three batters on his first relief pitch. First baseman Chick Gandil (yes, of the 1919 Black Sox) caught a liner for the first out, threw to third to get the runner there. The return throw to second got the other runner trying to get back (3-5-6).
On August 11, 1922, at Boston, Red Sox catcher Muddy Ruel fielded a bunt in front of home plate and threw to third to get the lead runner. The return throw to first retired the batter. Hall-of-Famer Sam Rice, who was on first. belatedly tried to advance from second but was throw out to complete an unusual 2-5-3-5 triple play.
On July 23, 1959, the Nationals turned the first (and only) triple play involving an all-Cuban trio. Whitey Herzog lined out to Nats’ pitcher Pedro Ramos, who threw to Julio Becquer at first for the second out; Becquer’s throw to Jose Vadlivielso at second beat the retreating base runner to complete the triple play.
In D.C. on July 15, 1969, the Tigers’ Daryl Peterson did what just a dozen relief pitchers since Ayers have done: Get a triple play on his first pitch. With runners on first and second, Ed Brinkman hit a sharp grounder to Don Wert at third, who tagged the bag to start an around-the-horn triple play.
The previous season – on July 30, 1968 -- Nationals shortstop Ron Hansen caught a liner by Cleveland’s Joe Azcue. With the runners on first and second moving, Hansen tagged Russ Snyder near second and stepped on the bag to get Dave Nelson retreating to complete just the eighth unassisted triple play in MLB history. It had been 41 years since the last one and would be 24 years until the next unassisted triple play. So Hansen’s was the only one over 65 seasons.
SABR member Andrew C. Sharp is a retired daily newspaper reporter, copy editor and editorial writer who lives in central New Jersey. He blogs about baseball in D.C., where he grew up, at washingtonbaseballhistory.com
Cleaning Up
Writer Selects Would-Be Walk-up Music
By Dan Schlossberg
En route home from the Braves-Mets game Wednesday night, grand-daughter Sophie Nolan asked what walkoff music I would pick if I were a player.
Though not a fan of most of the selections or the time wasted while playing them, the question deserved serious thought — especially since we were stuck on the G.W. Bridge approach off the Major Deegan Distressway.
Since my life moves fast, with many projects in the air at once, I pondered for only a few minutes. Then I said ‘Yakety Sax.’
My reasoning was simple: it’s a fast-moving song, almost a circus song, that not only makes listeners listen but also laugh.
Click on this link to hear it:
https://archive.org/details/BennyHillYaketySax
Sophie, her friend Maeve, and I laughed the rest of the ride home.
She also got my thinking: what would my Top 10 picks be from the “conventional” music charts, such as the Top 500 songs of the year picked by listeners of New York’s late, lamented oldies station WCBS-FM.
Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor hit a home run with his choice of My Girl, such an enjoyable and popular piece that Mets fans serenade him with it whenever he stars in a game, it would not have made my Top 10.
They are:
The first three bars of Beethoven’s Fifth — No player uses classical music and there’s still plenty of room for new ideas in the Grand Old Game
Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head — A regular fact of life, especially since the Tampa Bay Rays just had their first rain delay of a home game
Stardust — The Artie Shaw hit, later performed by Billy Ward and the Dominoes, pays tribute to the many stars of the game
The Shoop Shoop Song — Betty Everett’s 1964 single covers the players who are just shoop-shooping along despite their exorbitant salaries
One Fine Day — The Chiffons sang it but Eugenio Suarez lived it, becoming the latest player to produce a four-homer game earlier this season
Runaway — I ask the “why? why? why?” question from this Del Shannon song with every bad umpire’s call, especially on balls on strikes
The Wanderer — Though sung by Dion and the Belmonts, this song must have been written by Jesse Chavez, the most traded man in baseball history
At Last — An Etta James classic redone by Beyonce, I already use this as my cell phone ringtone so I obviously like it — and it’s about time that every slumping hitter or pitcher had a moment in the sun
The Locomotion — I love trains and anything that resembles them. Little Eva deserves all the accolades this great dance song received
Please Mr. Postman — Aside from the dreaded day when I got a message that started with the word GREETINGS, I love when my postman brings baseball books and magazines to my door (though I suspect he reads them first)
Honorable Mention: Only You; Theme from A Summer Place; Shop Around; That’ll Be The Day; Sh-Boom; Love Potion No. 9; Walk Like a Man; It’s My Party; My Guy; and every politician’s favorite, Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?
P.S. I don’t sing in the shower but definitely do in the car.
HtP weekend editor Dan Schlossberg, a long-time subscriber to Sirius XM Satellite Radio, loves classical, ragtime, Dixieland, Big Band, and rock ‘n roll music recorded before 1965. Email him at ballauthor@gmail.com.
Extra Innings: a Few Notes From Upcoming ASG
“We all make mistakes but I know there’s another game tomorrow.”
— Atlanta’s Brian Snitker when asked by a writer whether managers slump too
Snitker said he’s looking forward to the Atlanta All-Star Game, where he’ll serve as a coach for National League manager Dave Roberts . . .
A uniform used by Jackie Robinson for a post-career appearance in 1965 will highlight a Hunts All-Star Auction also expected to include many other historic artifacts . . .
The uniform, worn during a 1965 Old Timers Game in Cleveland, is expected to draw bids of up to $300,000, according to the venerable auction house . . .
Aaron Judge will headline an All-Star contingent of Yankees, who are seeking to extend their 32-year streak of above-.500 seasons . . .
Another Yankee, pitcher Luis Gil, won’t return until early August as the former AL Rookie of the Year rehabs his high-grade lat strain.
Know Your Editors
HERE’S THE PITCH is published daily except Sundays and holidays. Benjamin Chase [gopherben@gmail.com] handles the Monday issue with Dan Freedman [dfreedman@lionsgate.com] editing Tuesday and Jeff Kallman [easyace1955@outlook.com] at the helm Wednesday and Thursday. Original editor Dan Schlossberg [ballauthor@gmail.com], does the weekend editions on Friday and Saturday. Former editor Elizabeth Muratore [nymfan97@gmail.com] is now co-director [with Benjamin Chase and Jonathan Becker] of the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America, which publishes this newsletter and the annual ACTA book of the same name. Readers are encouraged to contribute comments, articles, and letters to the editor. HtP reserves the right to edit for brevity, clarity, and good taste.