Kris Bryant, Chicago Cubs. (Photo by Ron Vesely/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
The Chicago Cubs turned a triple play on the Cincinnati Reds…or did they?
The Chicago Cubs may have just done something for the first time since May 10, 1997.
It was the year before Sammy Sosa hit all those home runs, but the Cubs turned a triple play on the San Francisco Giants in the heart of the Clinton Administration. Since then, the Cubs dealt with some fan named Steve Bartman in 2003 and, I don’t know, won a World Series championship in 2016. So yes, it’s been a long time since the Cubs turned a triple play in a big league ball game.
Down 12-5 to the National League Central rival Cincinnati Reds in the bottom of the seventh, outfielder Shogo Akiyama lined out to a diving Kris Bryant at third base. Bryant stepped on the third base bag to double-up outfielder Nick Senzel. He then threw it across the diamond to first baseman Ian Happ to get catcher Tucker Barnhart out at third base to pull off the triple play.
Did the umpire blow it on the triple play call and screw over the Reds?
Because it was not a reviewable play, Bryant got away with the fooling third base umpire. The Cubs would tack on two more runs on Wednesday evening, but still fell to the Reds, 12-7. Chicago falls to 4-2 on the year, while Cincinnati improves to 2-4 in the 60-game MLB season. While this play had little impact on the final result, we wonder when the next time will be that the Cubs pull it off?
Had this been a pretty much any other sport, some variation of that play would have been reviewable. Did he catch it? Who did the ball touch last before it went out of bounds? Did the puck cross the goal line? Was he offside? Why is this so hard for baseball to get replay right? That play should have been reviewable, but here we are. The Cubs “turned” a triple play on Wednesday.
Until the end of time, Bryant will be a World Series champion and he turned a triple play.