Breakdown: How many of Evan Gattis' 11 triples were legit?
Astros slugger Evan Gattis hit 11 triples in 2015. But did he really? Let's look at all 11 to see what happened.
By
Mike Axisa
•
6 min read
Click on the regular-season triples leaderboard and you'll see some not so surprising names. Eddie Rosario of the Twins led MLB with 15. Kevin Kiermaier had 12. Rajai Davis had 11, Delino DeShields Jr. had 10 and Billy Burns had nine. That all makes sense.
And then there's Evan Gattis of the Astros.
Yes, Evan Gattis had 11 triples in 2015. The same Evan Gattis who looks like he either traveled through time from the Federal League ...
... or just finished a day of lumberjacking had 11 triples this past season. He had one triple in 2013 and 2014 combined. Minute Maid Park in Houston is actually a decent triples ballpark thanks to Tal's Hill and that huge center field, though Gattis is not exactly the kind of guy known for his speed.
It takes a lot for a guy like Gattis to leg out a triple. A ball needs to take an unexpected carom off the wall or an outfielder has to fall down, something like that. So, with that in mind, let's revisit Gattis' 11 triples to see exactly what happened on each play.
Okay, nothing crazy here. That's a straight up gap shot in cavernous Comerica Park. That is a real life, honest to goodness triple.
Should it have been a triple? Yup.
Triple No. 2: May 24 vs. Tigers
Boy, there's a lot going on there. First of all, look at this pitch location:
That's a little first-pitch cutter with runners at second and third with one out. Anibal Sanchez threw that pitch hoping Gattis would either chase for a swing and miss, or hit a weak tapper back in front of the plate. Instead he poked it to right.
Now look at the outfield positioning:
Like most hitters, Gattis is most dangerous when he pulls the ball with authority. The Tigers had him shaded towards left field, which is why Rajai Davis was playing right-center field instead of straight up right field. It took him a long time to run down that ball in the corner, allowing Gattis to get to third.
Should it have been a triple? No, that's a double that was turned into a triple thanks to the outfield alignment.
That's a classic slow-guy triple. Gattis clobbered that pitch, so much so that it was nearly a home run, but it hit off the tippy top of the wall and away from the center fielder.
Should it have been a triple? Nah. The proper play is the center fielder holding up, playing it off the wall, and holding Gattis to two bases.
I figured Tal's Hill would come into play at some point. That is a rocket over the head of Lorenzo Cain, who is an excellent defensive center fielder. Gattis crushed that pitch.
Should it have been a triple? Indeed.
This is a tough one. On one hand, Gattis hit that ball pretty well. On the other, it literally hit Leonys Martin in the glove and was this close to being caught. Martin went a very long way too. Notice the outfield positioning again:
The Rangers were playing Gattis to pull and got burned when he hit the ball into the right-center field gap. Pretty incredible effort by Martin just to make that play close. Also, it certainly helped Martin overthrew the first cutoff man.
The best part of this play though? That would be Adrian Beltre asking Gattis how many triples he's hit on the season:
Should it have been a triple? I'm going no with this one. It's a double with normal outfield positioning and Gattis might even have been thrown out at third had Martin not airmailed the ball back to the infield.
Triple No. 6: July 26 vs. Royals
Apparently there is no video of this play, so I had to make a GIF.
As you can see, Cain straight up misplayed that ball. Gattis hit it hard, but Cain was in position to make the catch and just didn't. It looks like he and right fielder Alex Rios may have had some communication issues.
Should it have been a triple? Nope.
Another classic slow-guy triple. Gattis hit a bomb, it clanked off the top of the high wall in left-center field, and caromed far away from the center fielder.
Should it have been a triple? No. When I think of a "true" triple, I'm thinking a ball into the gap or over someone's head. This was a poorly played carom.
Boy that's a tough one. Gattis destroyed that pitch. That's a home run in most other ballparks. At the same time, Gregor Blanco was right there and nearly made the catch:
I don't know what to think. Gattis deserves credit for smashing the pitch but Blanco kinda messed up too. That ball was catchable despite its impressive arc.
Should it have been a triple? Leaning no. Once I saw the close-up, I felt like it should have been caught.
Triple No. 9: August 14 vs. Tigers
Tigers again, huh? They gave up three of his 11 triples and they aren't even in the same division.
Anyway, that's a clean triple. Split the outfielders perfectly. J.D. Martinez is not fleet of foot but I don't think any right fielder was getting to that. Maybe peak Ichiro, but that's it. They hit the cutoff man and everything.
Should it have been a triple? No doubt.
Triple No. 10: September 25 vs. Rangers
Another one of these "caroms off the wall and away from the center fielder" triples. This one comes complete with Delino DeShields Jr. giving a token reach before pulling back and bracing for the wall:
Gotta play the carom there, Delino.
Should it have been a triple? No. Got to stay consistent.
I knew this was going to be good as soon as I read the video description on MLB.com:
9/30/15: Evan Gattis reaches third base on his 11th triple with a little help by Brad Miller falling down in right field
The Mariners decided to play a shortstop in right field and he turned a little flare single into three bases. Miller was on the ground before the ball even landed.
Phew, we came pretty close to looking at all 11 triples without one outfielder falling down. Thanks for that, Brad Miller.
Should it have been a triple? lol no
Final Tally: Three legitimate triples and eight where Gattis had help from the defense.
