In a given nine-inning game, the maximum number of double plays a team could turn is nine. Because of that obvious factoid, I kind of always wondered: has a team ever done that? I guessed not, but I then wondered how many the record was (not that I ever got around to Googling it). Whenever I’d see the Cubs turn four or so double plays in a game – which is a ton! – I’d think about this topic, but since the record was never mentioned, I figured they must not be especially close.
Well, sometimes laziness and inaction pays off, because last night the Cubs answered the question for me by turning a record-tying SEVEN double plays in their win against the Pirates, including the final outs of the game. Enjoy them all:
Turn two.
Then do it six more times. #EverybodyIn pic.twitter.com/JEBp4zsshF
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) August 18, 2018
That ties a record set twice before, and not accomplished in nearly 50 years:
.@EliasSports says: The #Cubs tied a modern record tonight by turning SEVEN double plays in a 9-inning game.
That had only happened twice before:
8/14/1942 — Yankees (vs. A's)
5/4/1969 — Astros (vs. Giants) @Cubs— Matt Kelly (@mattkellyMLB) August 18, 2018
And just for some context on how crazy it was that the Cubs got seven double plays, here’s what Jesse Rogers sent out when the Cubs got up to five (which, again, is a HUGE amount):
This is the first time the Cubs have turned 5 DP in a game since June 15, 2003 against the Blue Jays. Its just the 5th time the Cubs have done it in the last 100 seasons
— Jesse Rogers (@ESPNChiCubs) August 18, 2018
What the Cubs just did is WAY more rare than a perfect game or hitting for the cycle. It’s even more rare than a four-homer game. As a matter of fact, it’s almost exactly as rare as a two-out, pinch-hit, walk-off, grand slam …