Joey Votto has been very good at baseball for quite a long time, earning a reputation for being one of the best hitters of his generation. The dude’s got a bit of a glove over at first base, too, and on Saturday afternoon against the Cleveland Indians, Votto got the chance to show off what he can do.
Josh Naylor was at the plate with the Indians sitting on a 2-1 lead over the Cincinnati Reds. With no outs and runners on the corners, a good swing of the bat could have given the Tribe a little more breathing room. Naylor made good contact on the offering from Amir Garrett, but Votto was right there to pluck it out of the air for out number one.
Franmil Reyes was on first, but unfortunately for him, he got a little too overzealous and Votto tagged him out. Votto then stood up and realized that Eddie Rosario broke for home on contact and did not realize that an out was recorded, so Votto tossed the ball over to third for the exceedingly rare 3-3-5 triple play.
JOEY VOTTO TRIPLE PLAY
— MLB (@MLB) April 17, 2021
It took baseball until 2016 for its first 3-3-5 triple play, which was turned by the Washington Nationals against the San Francisco Giants.