The triple play is one of the rarest events in baseball, and it requires a combination of skill, luck, and timing to pull off. It starts with a hard-line drive on an infield player, and runners must be on base for the play to be successful. Jiggs Donahue, Billy Gilbert, and Bill Friel of the Brewers were part of the first official triple play in MLB history. Grounded into a triple play (GITP) is a simple way to document the play on your scorecard.
Of the 15 unassisted triple plays in MLB history, 12 were completed by a center fielder. Triple plays usually occur through a lineout for an infielder who can record the next two outs at the base runner's base. In baseball, a triple play is an incredibly rare act of making three outs during the same inning. It can be achieved by a single outfielder without touching the ball, or by a combination of players working together.
George Will proposed a hypothetical way in which a triple play could take place without any outfielder touching the ball. For a triple play to be successful, runners must be on base and the ball must be hit in a way that allows it to be thrown cleanly so that three basemen can be left out. It also requires quick action by the players to act and an unusual incompetence in the base race.
