King of the Triple

Terry never told Darnell how tough the triple is to get

Terry Creighton could never be accused of being the most athletic person during his 8-season run that ended after the 2001 season. He wasn't the fastest or the strongest, but during the 1999 season, he did something that has never been done before, setting a record that will probably never be broken.

He hit two triples in one season.

Now before you dismiss this is as a joke, let us remind you how damn impossible it is to hit a triple. To find yourself on third base is a result of unbelievable luck and circumstance. Speedsters like James Vassar could never count on their legs to race them to the bag on a true base hit; you most always have to be the beneficiary of one or two things (or both).

1) The ball you hit needs to rest in some remote spot where fielders will have a hard time getting to it.

2) The fielder and the pitcher need to committ at least one error.

The second one happens every now and then, but rarely to the degree it allows you to get all the way to third. The first one happens make a few times a year at most. Sometimes the ball will end up underneath a car or something, causing the fielder to work to get to it and allowing the baserunner time to chug all the way to third.

Still, fielders have done their work to combat that. Every now and then, fielders will fake either not being able to find the ball or not being able to get to the ball, hoping the runner bolts for the next base, where then the fielder will quickly pop up and throw the runner out. Bush-league yes, but it's caused runners to be extra wary whenever fielders are looking to have problems. Terry Creighton somehow pulled off the three-bagger twice in 1999, earning him a nomination on the 1999 Byrd Awards for the "Individual Performance of the Year."

Some people have looked to put a scare on the record. Darnell Uhland hit a triple in his rookie season, with only 40 ABs. Then, in 2001 Winterball, he hit another triple in his 10 ABs. Two triples in your first 50 ABs in the league? Surely he's a threat to shatter the record as he picks up a full season, right? Well ask Darnell, who's seen 374 regular season at-bats since, yet NO triples.

It's an elusive commodity, this triple. Terry Creighton was the master...at least in 1999.