Boston Red Sox John Valentin Records Unassisted Triple Play
By David Hill
The game between the Boston Red Sox and the Seattle Mariners, taking place on this day in 1994, would prove to be a historical matchup, highlighted by John Valentin turning the tenth unassisted triple play in baseball history.
On this day in 1994 ,there was quite a bit of buzz around the Seattle Mariners matchup with the Boston Red Sox. It was to be on this day that the Mariners latest phenom, Alex Rodriguez, would make his debut, another possible star that the young Mariners could build around.
However, it would be his counterpart at shortstop, the Red Sox John Valentin, that would steal the show. Valentin made his presence felt initially in the top of the sixth inning, as the Mariners had two on and no outs. Marc Newfield hit a line drive that Valentin would snare for the first out. He then stepped on second, doubling off Mike Blowers, and completed the tenth unassisted triple play in MLB history by tagging out Keith Mitchell.
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Valentin was not done for the night, or that inning, for that matter. Leading off in the bottom of the frame, and with the Red Sox down 2-0, Valentin hammered a home run down the left field line, putting Boston on the board. Both the triple play and the homer would ignite the Red Sox, would would go on to score three runs in the inning en route to a 4-3 victory.
Rodriguez, meanwhile, had a less impressive game. Batting ninth, he was 0-3 in his debut, seeing a total of seven pitches. He was, however, flawless in the field, handling all three of his chances and starting a double play in the bottom of the fifth.
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On this day in 1994, the game between the Seattle Mariners and the Boston Red Sox was to be known for the debut of Alex Rodriguez. Instead, John Valentin stole the show in historic fashion.