Last night's game between the Atlanta Braves and the St. Louis Cardinals once again showed that you never really know what's going to happen when you go to the ballpark. In the bottom of the 5th inning, Braves' shortstop Rafael Furcal became only the 12th player in Major League history to turn an unassisted triple play. Okay, so it's not quite "wow - there's something I've never seen before", but with a sum total of 12 plays in I don't know how many games, it's hardly everyday stuff either.

What I like even more about the play is that is highlights the twin aspects of baseball that make the game so interesting - the individual performance within a team context. Baseball is all about individual performances and battles (hitter vs. pitcher, fielder vs. hitter, catcher vs. baserunner, etc.), but they are always placed in a team context at some point. Sure, Barry Bonds hit 73 home runs in 2001, but he'd probably trade them in a heartbeat for a World Series ring. Furcal's play is a perfect example of this - exploits don't come any more individual or unusual than an unassisted triple-play, and his name will go into the record books for one moment in yesterday's game, but, at the end of the day, the bigger picture will show that his team couldn't hold on to the lead they had, and St. Louis ended up coming from behind in the bottom of the eighth and winning the game on a home run by Albert Pujols (who else...?) off the almost-invincible John Smoltz. Just chalk up an 'L' for Smoltz and the Braves. Sorry, Rafael...

The play is worth checking out, though, on MLB.com. Furcal catches Woody Williams's line-drive, steps on second base to double off Mike Matheny and then takes three steps towards first to tag out Orlando Palmeiro. One, two, three - inning over. Great play...