[« Thought for the Day:] [Meanwhile, over on the Cubs beat.... »]
04/28/2005: Yesterday's Great Baseball Achievement....
Just a little more on Mark Grudzielanek's hitting for the cycle in yesterday's game.....
According to MLB's Cardinals beat writer Matthew Leach, Grudz's feat yesterday was the baseball equivalent of filling an inside straight. Grudz hit a leadoff homer in the first inning, singled in his second plate appearance in the second inning, and then doubled in his third at bat in the fourth inning. Thus, he came up in the sixth inning needing a triple to complete the cycle.
Think about it for a bit. This is the equivalent of hitting an inside straight because a triple is the rarest of hit types, and the hardest to get. Usually a player thinks about his possibility of hitting for the cycle when he's already hit a triple and one other base hit; it's exceedingly rare to complete a cycle with a triple.
But then again, in my (admittedly limited) poker playing career, I have hit an inside straight (I've even been dealt a royal flush without having to draw for it in a computer poker game; I wish I'd kept a screenshot for posterity), so the unlikely does happen from time to time....
Len on 04.28.05 @ 12:28 PM CST
