April 16, 2011

Yankees Hit Into Six Double Plays, Tying AL Record

The Yankees set a franchise record last night by grounding into six double plays. Texas turned the twin-killings in the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, and 8th innings.

Baseball Reference reports that major league record for double plays in a nine-inning game is seven, set by the Giants in a 3-1 loss to Houston on May 4, 1969 (every inning but the 2nd and 6th).

BRef also reports that the Yankees are the 14th team since 1919 to hit into at least six double plays in a nine-inning game, but when I ran the same search, two additional games showed up, making New York the 16th team. If you include extra-inning games, there are now 24 teams who have hit into at least six DP in one game since 1919. The Giants are still the only team to hit into seven.

The Red Sox are on that nine-inning list three times, all as the batting team: May 1, 1966 (the first post-1919 game), April 13, 1984, and July 18, 1990. Boston also hit into six DP in a 16-inning game on April 27, 1989.

The teams hitting into at least six double plays had a combined 7-9 record; Boston won the 1990 game.

In April 2009, the Royals hit into six DP against Cleveland and, only 10 days later, turned six double plays against the Blue Jays.

1 comment:

sam said...

That 1990 game, I'm pretty sure was in the same series that the Sox hit into two triple plays in one game. It might even have been the other half of a double header.