In baseball, an unassisted triple play occurs when a defensive player makes all three outs by himself in one continuous play, without his teammates making any assists. Neal Ball was the first to achieve this in Major League Baseball (MLB) under modern rules, doing so on July 19, 1909. For this rare play to be possible there must be no outs in the inning and at least two runners on base, normally with the runners going on the pitch. The first game of the doubleheader between the Cleveland Naps and Boston Red Sox on July 19, 1909, featured a matchup of two pitchers who were swapped in a multiplayer trade before the season, but it was little-known Cleveland shortstop Neal Ball who stole the show. It was a 3-2 count and both runners ran on the pitch. McConnel hit a hard line drive that looked like a base hit but Ball was able to make the catch. Ball then stepped on second to retire a runner and then tagged the third runner who was caught to record the first unassisted triple play.

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