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Most GIDP In Non-Extra Inning Game Since 1919

Posted by Steve Lombardi on April 15, 2011

The Yankees hit into six double plays this evening - yes, 6 GIDP in a 9 inning game.  Since 1919, how many teams had 6+ GIDP in a game of 9 innings or less?

Here's the list -

Note: The "Opp" below is the team who hit into the GIDP on the far right.

Rk Date Tm Opp Rslt IP H R ER BB SO HR WP BF 2B 3B IBB HBP SH SF GDP
1 1969-05-04 HOU SFG W 3-1 9.0 9 1 1 4 4 0 0 34 1 0 0 0 1 0 7
2 2009-08-07 CHW CLE L 2-6 9.0 11 6 5 3 5 2 0 37 1 1 0 1 0 0 6
3 2009-04-30 KCR TOR W 8-6 9.0 11 6 6 6 2 2 0 38 1 0 0 0 0 0 6
4 2009-04-21 CLE KCR W 8-7 9.0 13 7 7 4 5 1 0 40 3 0 0 1 0 1 6
5 2003-06-17 (1) NYY TBD L 2-11 9.0 18 11 10 4 4 3 0 44 4 0 0 1 0 1 6
6 2003-05-17 HOU PHI L 4-9 9.0 10 9 9 9 2 2 1 42 2 0 1 2 0 1 6
7 1996-04-16 TOR DET L 8-13 9.0 18 13 13 9 3 5 1 47 4 0 2 0 0 0 6
8 1990-07-18 MIN BOS L 4-5 8.0 14 5 5 2 1 1 0 36 3 1 0 0 1 0 6
9 1988-05-08 HOU MON W 7-2 9.0 8 2 2 6 4 0 2 35 1 0 0 0 0 0 6
10 1984-04-13 DET BOS W 13-9 9.0 14 9 9 5 7 2 0 42 2 0 0 2 0 0 6
11 1975-04-29 NYY CLE L 1-3 9.0 9 3 3 6 2 0 0 40 0 1 0 1 1 0 6
12 1972-05-06 KCR BAL W 9-1 9.0 11 1 1 2 6 1 0 34 0 0 0 0 0 0 6
13 1966-05-01 (1) CAL BOS W 6-1 9.0 10 1 1 1 5 1 0 33 0 0 0 1 0 0 6
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 4/15/2011.

.
Yankees just missed tying the "record" tonight - by one.

34 Responses to “Most GIDP In Non-Extra Inning Game Since 1919”

  1. Greg Says:

    Teams on the list are actually 7-6 in these games. Suprised the game that Joe Torre hit into four double plays for the mets in 1975 isnt on here.

  2. Frank King Says:

    Wow! It's amazing that the Yankees did this when they didn't even have an opponent tonight, just like every time ESPN reports on them on nights they DON'T play the Sox. Seems like every other team on your list had an opponent. 6GIDP without playing against anybody has to be one of those super records that only the Yankees qualify for.

    Give some respect. At least mention who turned them. And that NY lost to TEX AGAIN!

  3. Bus Stop Rat Bag Says:

    Where does Wilson Valdez fall into the most double plays per at bat? Anyone know how to find that out?? Dude hits a bunch!!! Good defender though!!

  4. jason Says:

    i wonder what would happen if you extend the date farther back

    the 06 cubs, the 08 white sox, the 04-05 giants, the 01-03 pirates, the 11-14 a's probably generated a ton of dp's.

  5. Thomas Court Says:

    @2

    “NY lost to Texas AGAIN?” This is the first game NY has played against Texas this season. Ohhh… you were referring to last year’s playoffs. I see. Defeating NY in the LCS last season was a fine accomplishment. It would have been nice if they followed up that with a World Series win. Kinda how the only three times Texas has made the playoffs they were eliminated by the NY – on their way to winning the World Series.

    Prior to last year, Texas had been swept in consecutive playoff appearances against NY – scoring a total of 2 runs in six games. But they sure reversed the whole thing last year. And their first victory this year is sure to reverse their 248-357 record against NY in the regular season. Keep up the good work.

  6. ottoc Says:

    The Twins turned their 6 DPs while losing to the Red Sox in 8 innings on July 18, 1990, one day after they set an ML record by turning two triple plays against the same club in 8 innings. Yes, they lost that game, too.

  7. Jim Franklin Says:

    Texas only managed 4 hits last night in the win. I wonder what's the most runs scored in a game with the fewest number of hits?

  8. Jon Says:

    So that those Rangers are "respected" more, here's who turned the DP's.

    A Beltre-I Kinsler-M Moreland, I Kinsler-E Andrus-M Moreland, I Kinsler-E Andrus-M Moreland, M Harrison-E Andrus-M Moreland, M Harrison-E Andrus-M Moreland, I Kinsler-E Andrus-M Moreland.

    Hopefully now we will think of Mitch Moreland as much as we think of Curt Blefary.

  9. Neil L. Says:

    @2 @8
    The first baseman has the easiest job in turning a double play and the pivot man the hardest. What does the 1B player have to do except dig out a low throw?

    Mitch Moreland is no great shakes as a defensive player just because of the recent Yankees' DP performance.

    Interesting that the pitcher initiated two of the double plays for Texas.

  10. Neil L. Says:

    When I see a "fun" list like this, once I get over the initial "gee whiz" curiousity factor, I guess I try to make sense out of the data.

    I'm probably taking this kind of list (and myself) way too seriously but I'd like to know what these teams had in common. What do the data tell me about the nuances of baseball that I didn't know before?

    GIDP is one of those stats that really doesn't correlate simply with any other aspect of team play. Counting the recent Yankees' game, teams are 7-7 in these situations so GIDP 6 or more times is win-neutral.

    What percentage of the fact that a team is on the list is a function of:
    1. random statistical fluctuations
    2. good defense by the fielding team
    3. good offense by the batting team
    4. poor team speed for the batting team
    5. surface the game is played on
    6. pitch tendencies of pitcher

    ????

  11. Evan Says:

    @10

    Probably mostly 1 and 6.

    All of these games are relatively recent, and 8 of them took place in games employing the DH (8 out of 11 in the DH era). This makes sense to me. The ingredients for this type of thing are: lots of hits, well manicured fields, good quality gloves, minimal bunting, groundball pitchers and statistical chance.

    I wouldn't expect the pre-1919 data to change anything here as suggested @4. Those fielders were using gloves that roughly resembled small pillows on fields that were not nearly as suitable for fielding groundballs as modern ones.

  12. allan Says:

    I ran what I think is the same search and got two additional games:

    From 1919 to 2011, Only 9-inning games, (requiring GIDP>=6), sorted by most recent date
    http://bbref.com/pi/shareit/jcA95

    In my list, there are games from 1947 and 1948.

    ?

  13. Jon Says:

    I'm well aware that Moreland did little on his end. I think the whole concept of "respect" is ridiculous and apparently my sarcasm was lost in the medium.

  14. Neil L. Says:

    @8 @13

    Sorry, Jon. I wasn't sure if you were kidding.

  15. Peter John Says:

    Interesting side stat I overheard Michael Kay say last night about the six DPs - it was each hitter 1-6 in the lineup that grounded into a double play once.

  16. Gerry Says:

    The Yankees turned 7 double plays in a nine-inning game against the Athletics on 14 August 1942, see http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PHA/PHA194208140.shtml

    I don't know why this didn't turn up in your search.

  17. Raphy Says:

    Gerry - I think Steve's list is only for teams that hit into six DPs. If you look at the A's side of the boxscore, the A's only hit into 5 DPs that game. One of the other two was probably "B Dickey-P Rizzuto" , which I assume was a strike-em-out/throw-em-out. Not sure about the other.

  18. Frank King Says:

    @5 & @8

    My point is that the original blog proclaims to list every team to GIDP 6+ times since 1919 AND their opponent except who NYY faced Friday. The Yankees are actually mentioned twice by name. Who did they play against? Which team did the turning on the 6 DP? Doesn't matter because the Yankees were at the game.

    During the LCS, major media outlets could make it through an entire 90 second segment without mentioning the opposing team by name or city; never telling the viewer you who NYY lost to the night before. To omit which team is crushing them, which team is DP'ing them 6 times is pandering, and disrespectful to the team that accomplished it. That may get you the biggest audience but it's not quite accurate.

    And TEX has won 9 of the last 13 over NYY. Stop living in the past. Babe Ruth*, Lou Gehrig*, Mickey Mantle* & Roger Maris* are all dead.

    And with the hitting and the turning, NYY makes this list a total 4 times. Looks like they are always down for some DP in NY. 😉

  19. Peter john Says:

    @18

    NY is also down for winning. Which we do relentlessly 😛

  20. Neil L. Says:

    Now that everybody has shown their true colors....... in your respective corners Rangers and Yankees fans!

  21. DoubleDiamond Says:

    @20 "in your respective corners Rangers and Yankees fans!"

    A lot of Yankees fans are also Rangers fans. Those Rangers think they are entitled to the Stanley Cup whenever Easter falls on the 24th of the month. (The last time Easter was on the 24th of any month was in 1940.)

    @16-17 I remember reading back in the 1970s that the most double plays turned by a team in a game was 7, done twice, once by the Yankees and once by the Astros. This was from the defensive point-of-view. I wondered why the game involving the Yankees was not listed above. Now I realize that it is from the offensive (or lack thereof) point-of-view.

    Grounding into a double play (GIDP) seems to be the one way in which the actions of the batter solely cause this to happen. It's so bad that when there are runners on 1st and 3rd with nobody out and the batter hits into a double play that erases the guy who was on 1st while the runner on 3rd scores, the batter is not even given an RBI. This is apparently due to the fact that the defensive team is considered to be conceding the run.

    For other types of double plays, the runners may be thought to have contributed to them, or the batter at least hits the ball into the air. When a batter lines into a double play or a runner is doubled off a base on a fly ball hit to the outfield, the runner who left a base too soon may share in the blame. So may the runner caught stealing or picked off on a strikeout-double play or the runner who did tag up after a fly-out to the outfield who is out trying to advance (usually trying to score on a ball hit to any field or going from 2nd to 3rd on a ball hit to right field).

    The runner who is erased on a ground ball double play usually has no choice but to advance. The one thing he may be able to do is to try to keep the fielder putting him out from being able to throw to first to retire the batter. If this is not a force situation, the runner may share responsibility for running into the double play. (An example is a runner on 2nd with 1st base open who takes off on contact and is tagged out by the shortstop who has fielded the grounder. The shortstop then throws to first to get the batter.)

  22. DoubleDiamond Says:

    I see that in that game between the Phillies and the Astros, one of the double plays was a no RBI play just as I described it. It was hit into by the pitcher (Brandon Duckworth, later traded to Houston in the Billy Wagner deal) on an 0-2 count, so I wonder if he tried to bunt originally.

    The Phillies scored 9 runs even with all of those double plays.

    There were two 12-0 games in the 2000's in which the team that got shut out turned a double play, thus preventing more damage, although one of these occurred in the top of the first inning with the game still scoreless. In both games, the visiting team won, and Aaron Rowand played center field for the losing home team. (The center fielder was not involved in either play.)

    The following game featured one of the most interesting triple plays I had ever read about. With the bases loaded, the batter hit into what was originally a double play, erasing the runner who had originally been on first. The runner on third scored. The runner who had originally been on second also tried to score and was out at home on what had become a tag play.

    http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MON/MON197306130.shtml

    I remembered the play incorrectly, though. I thought it had been a sacrifice fly to the outfield in which the runner on third scored, but the runner on 1st was either doubled off or thrown out at second. On that play, the runner who had been on 2nd also tried to score but got thrown out at the plate. If this had been what had happened, I believe that the batter would have gotten an RBI, unlike in the situation which really happened.

  23. DoubleDiamond Says:

    Correction to my last post - those 12-0 losing teams both pulled off a TRIPLE play.

  24. John Autin Says:

    @4, Jason -- The 1906 Cubs logged 100 DPs. That was good for the time, and excellent in light of their team's 1.055 WHIP. But 100 DPs in a season is nothing by modern standards. Last year, MLB teams averaged 147 DPs, with Colorado leading at 182.

    DPs are, first and foremost, a function of runners on base. Since there were far fewer baserunners in 1906 -- and a much greater tendency to steal, bunt or hit-and-run, not to mention the primitive fielders' gloves -- there were far fewer DPs than in the current era. It's very unlikely that any dead-ball team had 6 GDP in a regulation game.

  25. Thomas Court Says:

    @18

    You were the one who brought up the past. When you said that Texas had beaten the Yankees again, you brought "the past" into the equation. But I guess you were only interested in the recent past.

    So bringing up the past is only OK as long as you get to slide the ruler back as far as you would like. Say the last 13 games, or only as far as the numbers continued to support your point. Anyone who slides the ruler back into the past any farther is living in the past?

    You don't have to go back to the dead Yankees to find the ones who have whomped Texas like they stole something. Jeter, Pettitte, Posada and Mariano were all active players when the Yankees beat them three times in the playoffs.

    Incase you are wondering, you asked for this. The original post was about games with a large number of double plays turned against one team. You just couldn't resist mentioning that the Yankees lost. And I couldn't resist pointing out the bigger picture to you.

    Your welcome.

  26. Gerry Says:

    @17, you're right, I missed the part about GIDP rather than all DP. You're also right that one of the 7 Yankee DP was started by the catcher, and in the absence of play-by-play availability it's reasonable to assume it went as you say. Another DP was started by the pitcher - I wonder if he picked off a runner, and a second runner got caught trying to take advantage of the play on the first runner. But would that count as a DP?

  27. Raphy Says:

    @26 The game was very much in the news at the time. Unfortunately, none of the articles available for free have a recounting of each double play.

    However, if someone has access to the Chicago Tribune, LA Times or possibly the NY Times archive, the articles there seem promising. Here is the link to those 3.

  28. Kingturtle Says:

    the game listed that is most interesting to me is TB beating NYY 11-2 in spite of hitting into 6 GIDPs.

  29. shoewizard Says:

    D Backs made a run at this tonight.

    Had 5 DP's thru 6 innings, including every inning 2nd thru 6th

    Had a couple more chances too but didn't get it......and lost the game to boot.

  30. Neil L. Says:

    @21
    "A lot of Yankees fans are also Rangers fans."

    Nice one, Double! YOUR Rangers are in tough against the Caps this series. High-quality posts @21 and 22 (~sucks up~). Have to go run an errand for my wife but plan to digest all you've said in them later.

    @25
    Thomas, take a chill pill.......please.

  31. Gerry Says:

    Concerning the Yankees' 7 DP game of 14 August 1942, the Baseball Almanac site http://www.baseball-almanac.com/yearly/yr1942a.shtml says, "Bill Dickey gunned down two runners following third strikes and Phil Rizzuto, Johnny Murphy and Red Rolfe combined on five others." This is not consistent with the boxscore, which shows Dickey starting only one DP (he's involved in a second one, which went 1st to catcher to 3rd). I found other sites claiming Dickey started two, but they may all be copying each other.

  32. Evan Says:

    The NY Times article indicated that 2 of the DPs involved caught stealing by Dickey.

  33. Raphy Says:

    Thanks!

  34. DoubleDiamond Says:

    @30 - I'm a Capitals fan, which I have been since Day 1 in 1974. I can certainly associate with the fans of certain baseball teams