Triple play facts for kids

Jiggs Donahue, Billy Gilbert, and Bill Friel (left to right) of the Milwaukee Brewers recorded the first triple play in American League history on July 14, 1901, against the Chicago White Stockings.

In baseball, a triple play is one of the rarest and most exciting plays you can see. It happens when the team playing defense gets three outs in a single, continuous play. This means three players from the batting team are removed from the game during one action.

Triple plays are very uncommon in Major League Baseball (MLB). Since 1876, there have only been about 722 triple plays. That's an average of only about five triple plays each season! This is because many things need to happen just right for one to occur.

How Triple Plays Happen

For a triple play to happen, two main things must be true at the start of the play:

• First, there must be at least two baserunners on base. Also, there must be zero outs already in the inning. This situation is not very common. Only about 1.5% of all times a batter comes to the plate happen when there are two or more runners and no outs.
• Second, the play itself must allow the defense to get three outs quickly. Simple plays, like a batter striking out or hitting a high fly ball, usually don't lead to a triple play.

Common Triple Play Scenarios

Triple plays usually happen in specific ways:

• A batter hits the ball very hard and directly to an infielder (like the first baseman, second baseman, shortstop, or third baseman).
• The infielder then makes very fast moves to get three outs.
• Sometimes, baserunners make mistakes or get confused. This can also help the defense get three outs.

For example, a common triple play might start with runners on first and second base, and no outs. The batter hits a line drive directly to the shortstop. The shortstop catches the ball (one out). Then, the shortstop quickly throws to second base to tag out the runner who left too early (second out). Finally, the second baseman throws to first base to tag out the runner there (third out). All this happens without the ball ever touching the ground!

Triple Play in Scorekeeping

When keeping score in baseball, you might see the abbreviation GITP. This stands for "grounded into a triple play." It means the batter hit a ground ball that led to the triple play.

See also

In Spanish: Tripleplay para niños