RetroSimba

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa took a gamble that triggered one of the rarest plays in baseball.

On Aug. 10, 2003, the Braves faced the Cardinals in a Sunday night game at St. Louis before a national television audience on ESPN. In the fifth inning, with runners on first and second, no outs and pitcher Woody Williams batting, La Russa called for the hit-and-run. Williams lined the ball to shortstop Rafael Furcal, who turned an unassisted triple play.

Only 15 unassisted triple plays have been achieved in the major leagues. The Cardinals never have converted one. They twice have been the victims.

The Cardinals first hit into an unassisted triple play at Pittsburgh on May 7, 1925. The Cardinals had Jimmy Cooney on second base and Rogers Hornsby on first, with no outs in the ninth, when cleanup batter Jim Bottomley hit a liner to shortstop Glenn Wright, who caught the ball, “leaped on second base after the catch” to double up Cooney and tagged out Hornsby, who was racing toward second and couldn’t stop in time to elude Wright, The Sporting News reported. Boxscore

Furcal turned a similar play against the Cardinals.

With the score 1-1, Mike Matheny was on second and Orlando Palmeiro was on first, with no outs, when Williams came to bat against starter Horacio Ramirez.

Squaring to bunt, Williams saw two pitches, one a strike and the other a ball. Confident of Williams’ ability to handle the bat, La Russa removed the bunt sign and called for the hit-and-run. “More guts than brains,” La Russa told MLB.com. “I’ve been accused of that many times.”

As Ramirez unleashed his pitch, Matheny and Palmeiro took off running. Williams lined the ball on a path toward left-center field. “I thought it got through,” Ramirez told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

One-man show

Furcal leaped and snared the ball. With Matheny almost at third, Furcal could have flipped the ball to second baseman Marcus Giles, who was positioned to receive the toss at second base.

“When Giles asked me, ‘Give me the ball, give me the ball,’ I said, ‘No. I got a chance to make it myself.’ ” Furcal said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Said Giles: ” I could tell by the look in his eyes that he wasn’t giving it up. It was pretty cool.”

Furcal stepped on second to double up Matheny for the second out.

Palmeiro, steaming toward second, had crossed the bag, applied the brakes, turned and began to retreat. Furcal caught him easily and applied the tag, completing the 12th unassisted big-league triple play. Video

“And so, the worst thing that could have happened for the Cardinals, did happen,” ESPN broadcaster Jon Miller said in summarizing the play.

Good instincts

Miller’s broadcast partner, Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan, praised an “excellent job by Furcal not to take off for second base” when Furcal saw Palmeiro break from first on the pitch. Furcal held his ground until Ramirez delivered his pitch and was positioned to field the line drive, Morgan told viewers.

“You could see it developing, just like that,” Braves manager Bobby Cox said to the Associated Press.

Said Furcal: “I thought the play had a real flow.” Boxscore

(Eight years later, the Cardinals acquired Furcal from the Dodgers and he was their starting shortstop when they won the 2011 World Series title. Three days after winning the title, La Russa retired. Matheny replaced him and opened the 2012 season with Furcal as his shortstop.)

It was the second unassisted triple play turned by the Braves. The other was achieved by shortstop Ernie Padgett on Oct. 6, 1923, in the season finale against the Phillies at Boston.

Since Furcal’s feat, there have been three unassisted triple plays in the major leagues. Those were turned by Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki on April 29, 2007; Indians second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera on May 12, 2008; and Phillies second baseman Eric Bruntlett on Aug. 23, 2009. Complete list

Previously: Rafael Furcal cost Rick Ankiel Rookie of the Year Award