(If you like some cardboard with your baseball trivia, read the rest of our related posts here.)
Before September 20, 1992, Mickey Morandini was just another of the young players that the Philadelphia Phillies were grooming to be part of what they hoped would eventually turn into an exciting team.
Morandini was 26 years old and in his first full season as the Phils’ more-or-less starting second baseman, though he had appeared in 97 games at the keystone in 1991.
The results were mixed, though — his 13 stolen bases (thrown out twice) in ’91 slid to 8 (caught 3 times) in 1992, and he displayed little power. In the field, he provided roughly league-average defense with the occasional flashy play thrown in to tease the Philly phaithful.
Up until that point, my overriding impression of Morandini had been forged by his 1991 Score card. Camped inside a boring design that screamed early 1990s, the Rookie Prospect was presented to the collecting world through a wild photo that featured him in mid-air with all four limbs splayed open like a cat startled by a cucumber.
But even though one foot is over his head on the front of his Score rookie card, and even though he’s looking at the ground and away from the play, Morandini has somehow managed to spear the baseball. On the basis of that indelible image, I always thought of crazy-good defense when I thought of Morandini — which wasn’t often.
And that view was reinforced when Philadelphia visited Pittsburgh to play the Pirates as another lost season shuffled toward a lonely and gray Philly winter.
In the bottom of the sixth inning on that September 20th, Andy Van Slyke led off with a single to left field, and Barry Bonds followed with a single through the left side of the infield.
Up to the plate, with a chance to be the hero of the moment, strode Jeff King. He worked the count full against Curt Schilling and then ripped a line drive up the middle — and right into the glove of Mickey Morandini.
Van Slyke took off for third at the crack of the bat, and Bonds bolted for second.
But Morandini made them pay for their eagerness …
He stepped on the bag at second to retire Van Slyke and then tagged Barry as the entire city of Pittsburgh seemed to convene at the keystone.
It was an unassisted triple play, the first one in the Major Leagues in more than 24 years and only the ninth of the modern era. Alas, even with Mickey’s heroics, the Phillies couldn’t stop the Pirates, who won the game 3-2 en route to their third NL East championship in as many years.
Morandini’s feat did seem to inspire confidence in his contemporary infielders, or maybe it just made the baseball gods realize how stingy they had been with the unassisted triple play over the years.
Whatever … there would be six more of these rare gems turned in by 2009.
Here, then, are all of the diamond dudes to pull off an unassisted triple play for a Major League team since 1900, along with some of their baseball cards.
Because, you know, everything goes better with a little cardboard.
Ne
al Ball
Date: July 19, 1909
Position: Shortstop
Team: Cleveland Naps
Opponent: Boston Red Sox
Inning: 2nd
Play: Caught line drive, touched 2nd, tagged runner.
Bill Wambsganss
Date: October 10, 1920
Position: Second baseman
Team: Cleveland Indians
Opponent: Brooklyn Robins
Inning: 5th
Play: Caught line drive, touched 2nd, tagged runner.
George Burns
Date: September 14, 1923
Position: First baseman
Team: Boston Red Sox
Opponent: Cleveland Indians
Inning: 2nd
Play: Caught line drive, tagged runner, touched 2nd.
Ernie Padgett
Date: October 6, 1923
Position: Shortstop
Team: Boston Braves
Opponent: Philadelphia Phillies
Inning: 4th
Play: Caught line drive, touched 2nd, tagged runner.
Glenn Wright
Date: May 7, 1925
Position: Shortstop
Team: Pittsburgh Pirates
Opponent: St. Louis Cardinals
Inning: 9th
Play: Caught line drive, touched 2nd, tagged runner.
Jimmy Cooney
Date: May 30, 1927
Position: Shortstop
Team: Chicago Cubs
Opponent: Pittsburgh Pirates
Inning: 4th
Play: Caught line drive, touched 2nd, tagged runner.
Johnny Neun
Date: May 31, 1927
Position: First baseman
Team: Detroit Tigers
Opponent: Cleveland Indians
Inning: 9th
Play: Caught line drive, tagged runner, beat returning runner to 2nd.
Ron Hansen
Date: July 30, 1968
Position: Shortstop
Team: Washington Senators
Opponent: Cleveland Indians
Inning: 1st
Play: Caught line drive, touched 2nd, tagged runner.
Mickey Morandini
Date: September 20, 1992
Position: Second baseman
Team: Philadelphia Phillies
Opponent: Pittsburgh Pirates
Inning: 6th
Play: Caught line drive, touched 2nd, tagged runner.
John Valentin
Date: July 8, 1994
Position: Shortstop
Team: Boston Red Sox
Opponent: Seattle Mariners
Inning: 6th
Play: Caught line drive, touched 2nd, tagged runner.
Randy Velarde
Date: May 29, 2000
Position: Second baseman
Team: Oakland Athletics
Opponent: New York Yankees
Inning: 6th
Play: Caught line drive, tagged runner, touched 2nd.
Rafa
el Furcal
Date: August 10, 2003
Position: Shortstop
Team: Atlanta Braves
Opponent: St. Louis Cardinals
Inning: 5th
Play: Caught line drive, touched 2nd, tagged runner.
Troy Tulowitzki
Date: April 29, 2007
Position: Shortstop
Team: Colorado Rockies
Opponent: Atlanta Braves
Inning: 7th
Play: Caught line drive, touched 2nd, tagged runner.
Asdrúbal Ca
brera
Date: May 12, 2008
Position: Second baseman
Team: Cleveland Indians
Opponent: Toronto Blue Jays
Inning: 5th
Play: Caught line drive, touched 2nd, tagged runner.
Eric Bruntlett
Date: August 23, 2009
Position: Second baseman
Team: Philadelphia Phillies
Opponent: New York Mets
Inning: 9th
Play: Caught line drive, touched 2nd, tagged runner.
Thanks for posting this. I always held a fondness for Mickey Morandini. Maybe it was the way his name rolls of the tongue!
Glad you liked it! I have a similar affinity for Ivan DeJesus — very flowing name.
I have that Score card autographed. Doesn’t seem to have much value, since as you said, people don’t think of Morandini too often. But I sent it to PSA with my few other autographed cards, just to have it authenticated and protected. There’s no population report from PSA for it, so maybe I’m the only person to bother encasing Morandini’s 1991 Score card.
Aha! Maybe you’ve created your own 1-of-1 Morandini collectible, then!