Eric Bruntlett: Hall of Fame?
If you missed today’s Phillies 9-7 victory over the Mets, you missed a piece of baseball history unfolding in the glove of an unlikely source, Phillies utility infielder Eric Bruntlett.
Bruntlett, who has had a horrible season, was giving Chase Utley a rare game off. He was making Phillies skipper Charlie Manual look like a genius by getting three hits. This from a guy who started the day batting .129. Then in the ninth he made two errors, once of which was generously called an infield hit. The Mets had scored one run and had runners on first and second with no outs, when Brad Lidge delivered his next pitch. The runners broke on a double steal. The batter, Jeff Francoeur, hit a sure single up the middle. However, since the batters were running, Bruntett was right behind the bag where he caught the line drive for out one, stepped on second for out two and tagged the runner coming from first base for out three. The triple play ended the game and preserved the Phillies’ victory.
All right, an unassisted triple play. That has happened before, why is it Hall of Fame worthy? Turns out in the recorded history of Major League Baseball, this is only the second time a game has ended with an unassisted triple play. The last time was May 31, 1927, when Tigers first baseman Johnny Neun ended a game against Cleveland.
Thanks to a walk off unassisted triple play, Eric Bruntlett is going to have his place in the Hall of Fame. Baseball is a funny game, isn’t it?
Tags: baseball, Eric Bruntlett, triple play
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