"Orioles Classics" #TBT: O's turn two triple plays in one season

The 2017 season was the year of the triple play for Baltimore. One of the rarest feats in baseball, the Orioles accomplished it twice in two different ballparks almost three months apart. The first was on May 2 at Fenway Park and was a bit unconventional. A popup from Jackie Bradley Jr. failed to meet J.J. Hardy's glove, but he quickly tossed the ball over to Jonathan Schoop, who tagged Mitch Moreland before touching second to force Dustin Pedroia out, then fired it over to Chris Davis to get Bradley out:

Odd, right? Nevertheless, it happened, and it was their first triple play since Sept. 1, 2000 at Cleveland.

The second came on Aug. 3 at Camden Yards in the second inning against the Tigers. The O's helped Chris Tillman escape a jam with a much cleaner, gorgeous 5-4-3 for their first triple play at Camden Yards since Aug. 25, 1992:

According to STATS LLC, it was the second time in Orioles history since 1954 that they turned two triple plays in a season (the other in 1973). It was also the fifth time since 1996 that a team turned at least two triple plays in a season, joining the White Sox in 2006, Phillies in 2007, Brewers in 2016 and White Sox three times in 2016.

Here's what's coming up this week on MASN for "Orioles Classics":

Thursday, Jan. 11, noon - Down 2-1 against the Yankees, the O's pulled off a four-run eighth inning with homers from both Schoop (a solo shot to left field) and Adam Jones (a three-run shot to the bullpen, his 23rd of the season). The 5-3 comeback victory on Aug. 13, 2014 completed a two-game sweep in the rain-shortened series and put the O's up eight games over the Yankees (then in third-place).

Friday, Jan. 12, 12:30 a.m. - The 1966 World Series was the final chapter of a storybook season for the Orioles. A roster filled with eventual Hall of Famers Frank Robinson, Jim Palmer, Luis Aparicio and Brooks Robinson went up against the invincible duo of Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale, and the rest of the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, who were projected to win the series. However, the Orioles swept in four games to become World Series champions for the first time in franchise history and spark a golden era in Orioles baseball. Since then, the Birds made frequent postseason appearances until 1983 and had an impressive 18 consecutive winning seasons from 1966-1985.

Saturday, Jan. 13, 7:30 p.m. - On May 16 of last season, the O's and Tigers competed in a back-and-forth marathon at Comerica Park, which included numerous lead changes and rallies that lasted until the 13th inning. After 5 hours, 19 minutes, it was Davis' two-run homer in the top of the 13th that secured a 13-11 victory for the Orioles.