Baseball "Heichi Timsa"
I have several weighty subjects I'd like to blog about, such as the disengagement from Gaza, Jewish mourning customs, and, of course, the Fantastic Four movie. But here's a quick one for now - one of my favorite baseball questions. Note for those unfamiliar with the parlance of Talmudic discourse: No, "Heichi Timsa" is not the name of the latest Japanese player imported by the Yankees. It means, roughly, "how is this situation possible"?
Anyway, here's the question: There are no outs, the pitcher throws a pitch and a triple play occurs, without the ball being touched by any fielder. How is this possible?
Note: According to Phil Rizzuto, who asked this question on a Yankees broadcast years ago, this situation actually occurred in a Yankees game in the 30s or 40s.
Send answers to comments. I'll confirm the correct response tomorrow!
posted by Elie @ 7/19/2005 11:50:00 AM -
4 Comments:
Here is an unlikely scenario.
If you pass another runner on the basepaths, the second runner is out. So, if you have bases loaded, and batter hits grand slam, and runner on third base stays on third to high five all the other three runners who pass him, it would be a triple play without a fielder touching the ball.
Not very likely to see though.
It's also possible to have 4 outs in one inning. See if you can figure that out!
strike out where the catcher doesnt catch the ball and hitter gets to first base.
I've heard Rizzuto's puzzle before - years ago - but I can't for the life of me remember the answer. The only scenarios I can come up with are too forced, such as the runners spontaneously leaving the basepaths.
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