Second basemen Asdrúbal Cabrera and Eric Bruntlett each recorded unassisted triple plays during their Major League Baseball careers.
These plays are among the rarest feats in professional baseball, requiring a single fielder to record three outs in one half-inning without assistance from teammates. Such events occur infrequently across decades of play, making them significant milestones in the sport's statistical history.
Cabrera's achievement marked the 14th [1] unassisted triple play in the history of the league. The play solidified his place in a restrictive list of players capable of executing such a sequence alone.
Eric Bruntlett later recorded the 15th [2] unassisted triple play in MLB history. Bruntlett achieved the feat while playing at the Phillies' home field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania [3].
Both players operated at the second base position, a location that provides the necessary proximity to both the bags and the batter to facilitate such a play. The rarity of these events is underscored by the fact that only 15 [2] have occurred across the expansive history of the league.
While the specific circumstances of Cabrera's play were not detailed in the available records, the sequential nature of these events highlights the extreme difficulty of the maneuver. The transition from the 14th [1] to the 15th [2] occurrence demonstrates that these plays remain anomalies even as the game evolves.
“Cabrera's achievement marked the 14th unassisted triple play in the history of the league.”
The occurrence of only 15 unassisted triple plays in the history of Major League Baseball emphasizes the precise alignment of timing, positioning, and baserunning errors required for such a play. Because these events are so rare, they serve as historical benchmarks for defensive efficiency and situational luck in the sport.
