Latest 'Connections': 1st triple play to Ohtani

Major League Baseball has had its share of rarities, from the triple play to the two-way player. The Baseball Hall of Fame has found a way to connect the two in the last 110 years.

In the YouTube series Hall of Fame Connections, produced by MLB Network and made possible by a grant from I LOVE NY/New York State’s Division of Tourism, The National Baseball Hall of Fame focuses on the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League and other accomplishments in Major League Baseball.

The series, driven by Camping World, looks at the Hall of Fame’s collection from a new and exciting angle, with each episode telling a different story of how two seemingly unrelated artifacts in the Museum’s vast collection connect to each other, crossing through generations of baseball history.

Each two-part episode features both a narrative storytelling element that weaves through the history of some of the Museum’s most iconic artifacts, and the Hall of Fame’s curators conversing about those artifacts and stories with MLB Network personality Carlos Peña, a former MLB All-Star, and sports journalist Lindsay Berra, Yogi Berra’s granddaughter.

The series consists of 13 episodes, all available to stream for free through the Hall of Fame’s YouTube channel at youtube.com/baseballhall. New episodes will be released each Wednesday through September and will also be featured across MLB Network’s studio programming.

The fourth episode, titled “From A Triple Play To Shohei” is available now.

Whenever a great play is made in baseball, the Baseball Hall of Fame makes sure it gets a piece of history. Here is what to expect for the fourth episode.

A Major League first

The first acknowledged triple play was recorded by shortstop Neal Ball against the Red Sox on July 19, 1909. Ball was a member of the Cleveland Naps, and he helped Cy Young get out of trouble that day. According to SABR’s John McMurray, the two teams were in the first game of a doubleheader. It was the second inning, the Red Sox had runners on first and second and no outs. Amby McConnell came to the plate and hit a line drive to Ball, who caught the ball, forced the runner at second and tagged Jake Stahl for the triple play. The five-finger glove that Ball used that day is on display in Cooperstown.

It turned out to be quite a day for Ball. In the bottom of the inning, he hit an inside-the-park home run. After the game, the fans of Cleveland gave Ball a medal commemorating the triple play. Ball would later donate the medal to the Hall of Fame.

From Ball to the Babe

Ball was out of the Major Leagues after the 1913 season. But the following year, he was playing for the Baltimore Orioles of the International League and played with a teenager named Babe Ruth, who would become one of the greatest baseball players to ever live. Besides being arguably the best slugger ever, Ruth could deal on the mound, winning 94 games with a 3.00 ERA in 163 games. The Baseball Hall of Fame has its share of Ruth items including a ball thrown by Ruth in 1916. That year he won 23 games and had a 1.75 ERA. The Hall wouldn’t be complete without a Babe Ruth bat, with which he hit a league-leading 29 home runs in 1919. The bat is 40 ounces, 36 inches.

Lou awards Eleanor

One of Ruth’s teammates was Lou Gehrig, who is arguably the best first baseman ever. But he was more than just a baseball player. He was a romantic. Gehrig gave his wife, Eleanor, a charm bracelet to commemorate their fourth wedding anniversary. The bracelet consists of jewels from 17 awards that he received during his career. The bracelet is now displayed in Cooperstown.

Ruth, All-Stars go to Japan

Ruth and an All-Star squad, which included Gehrig and Jimmie Foxx, toured Japan in 1934. The dream team faced 17-year old right-hander Eiji Sawamura. He made a name for himself when he struck out Charlie Gehringer, Ruth, Gehrig and Foxx in a row. Sawamura was elected to Japan’s Baseball Hall of Fame in 1959.

Now, the best pitcher in the Nippon Professional Baseball League is honored with the Sawamura Award, Japan’s version of the Cy Young Award. Current Major Leaguers such as Kenta Maeda and Yu Darvish have won the award in their native country. When Maeda won the award in 2015, the runner up was Shohei Ohtani.

The next Babe Ruth

Ruth excited fans when he dominated on the mound and in the batter’s box. That was back in the early 20th century. In 2021, we are seeing Ohtani put on his best Ruth impersonation. Entering Tuesday’s action, Ohtani is raking with 35 homers and dealing on the mound with a 3.04 ERA. The Hall of Fame managed to collect Ohtani’s cap and helmet from the 2018 season. That year, he won American League Rookie of the Year honors. The Hall also has an Ohtani bat in their collection. The bat was from this season when he hit his second homer of the season against the White Sox. The exit velocity from the bat was 115 mph.