How To Score Baseball: The Triple Play

What do you think about a good old baseball triple play? Even if you are a baseball statistician or just know how to score baseball, scoring a triple play is a rarity.

There are unassisted triple plays, Around the horn triple plays and even Bases Loaded Triple plays. Would you know how to score a triple play in a baseball scoresheet?

Here's a theoretical scenario that describes an "around the horn" triple play. The inning ending baseball scorecard results are shown in the illustration.

THE SCENARIO

* The Red Sox are playing the Yankees at Yankee stadium
* It's the top of the first inning
* Ellsbury leads off with a hit
* Pedrioa walks
* Ortiz walks
* Ramirez grounds into a triple play to end the inning.

THE CHRONOLICAL REPLAY OF THE INNING

THE FIRST AT-BAT
Ellsbury - Gets a hit to right field (noted by the "1B") on a 2 balls no strike count:

* The "1B" denotes the hit
* A line from home to first base notes he reached first base safely
* The thin line from home to right field shows the direction of the hit
* The "1" and "2" in the top squares represent the first and second pitch were balls.
* FYI, the ball hit into play is implied and not recorded. The top squares are used to record balls and the bottom to record strikes.

THE SECOND AT-BAT
Pedroia Walks on four pitches

* "BB" denotes a Base on Balls
* A line from home to first base notes he reached first base safely
* The "1", "2" and "3" in the top squares represent the first three pitches were balls. The fourth pitch is implied.
* A line is drawn from home to first to note the batter reached first base

Ellsbury - Advances to second base on the Base on Balls

* A line is drawn from first base to second to denote the advance to second base

THE THIRD AT-BAT
Ortiz - Walks on a full count

* "BB" denotes a Base on Balls
* A line from home to first base notes he reached first base safely
* The "1", "2" and "4" denote that the first, second and fourth pitch were balls. The "3" and "5" denote the third and fifth pitch were strikes. The walk is implied and not recorded as a pitch
* A line is drawn from home to first to note the batter reached first base

Pedroia - Advances to second base on the Base on Balls

* A line is drawn from first base to second to denote the advance to second base

Ellsbury - Advances to third base on the Base on Balls

* A line is drawn from second to third to denote the advance to second base

THE FOURTH AT-BAT
Ramirez Hits into a ground ball triple on the first pitch.
The ball was hit to the third baseman who tagged third base and threw to the second baseman covering second. The second baseman catches the ball, tags second base for the second out and throws to first base. The first baseman makes the catch and tags first base before the runnner to complete the triple play.

* The triple play is scored as "TP 5-4-3"
* The "TP" represents a triple play.
* Where "5" notes the third baseman's action of catching the grounder and tagging third base
* The "4" represents the second baseman who caught the ball, tagged the base and relayed it to the first baseman
* The "3" represents the first baseman making the third out.
* The diagonal line denotes the end of the inning

Ortiz - Is the second out of the inning

* The circled 2 denotes this player was the second out of the inning

Pedroia - Is tthe first out of the inning

* The circled 1 denotes this player was the first out of the inning

PUTOUTS/ASSISTS
The third baseman is credited with a putout and an assist (on the relay to second)
The second baseman is credited with a putout and an assist (on the relay to first)
The first baseman is credited with a putout.

No run is scored on this play - even if the runner on third base touched home plate before the triple play was completed.

Learn more about How To Score Baseball.