If you were involved in a double play between the South Bend Cubs and the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers on Saturday, raise your hand.
Didn’t raise your hand? You’re in the minority. South Bend managed to record two outs with six players touching the ball at least once — seven if you include the pitcher. Cubs catcher Miguel Pabon caught and released it three times.
The High-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs pulled off the feat in the eighth inning of their win at home on Saturday. It started innocently, with left fielder Edgar Alvarez catching a routine fly ball from Marco Dinges with the bases loaded.
That’s when things got complicated. The runner on third base, Jadher Areinamo, tried to score, but a strong throw from Alvarez forced Areinamo to retreat. But as he hustled back toward third, the runner on second base, Eduardo Garcia, had strayed too far off the bag.
Many throws ensued. If you were scoring from the ballpark and lost track or ran out of room on your scorecard, you can be forgiven. It ended up a 7-2-4-2-5-2-3-6 double play, with shortstop Cristian Hernandez finally tagging out Areinamo between third and home.
When the dust settled, six fielders and two baserunners had been involved in the play. Somehow, the runner at first, Blake Burke, avoided the chaos.
The only thing the play — and all those numbers — didn’t include was an area code.
