In addition to being the first major league pitcher to hit a triple this season, Andrew Cashner is the nineteenth Padres pitcher to hit one. I feel like I'm overdoing it with posts about his triple, but it's interesting to me, and this angle on it is more team-history-oriented whereas that one framed it in the context of MLB history.
While Cashner is the nineteenth Padres pitcher to hit a triple, as I discovered with help as usual from the infallible and indispensable Baseball Reference Play Index, his was the twenty-third pitcher-triple in club history, thanks to a few guys doing it more than once. I'll get back to that and various other related facts but first, here's the list:
Andrew Cashner | 2014 |
Anthony Bass | 2012 |
Jake Peavy | 2007 |
Chris Young | 2006 |
Adam Eaton | 2005 |
Matt Clement | 2000 |
Joey Hamilton | 1998 |
Pete Smith | 1997 |
Will Cunnane | 1997 |
A.J. Sager | 1994 |
Greg Harris | 1990 |
Dave Dravecky | 1985 |
Tim Lollar | 1984 |
Tim Lollar | 1983 |
Tim Lollar | 1982 |
John Curtis | 1982 |
Juan Eichelberger | 1982 |
Brent Strom | 1976 |
Dave Freisleben | 1976 |
Dave Freisleben | 1974 |
Lowell Palmer | 1974 |
Steve Arlin | 1972 |
Steve Arlin | 1971 |
- Three pitchers have tripled more than once, led by professional hitter Tim Lollar with three, but none have done it more than once in a season.
- The Padres' longest stretch without a pitcher hitting a triple was the nearly six years between Dave Freisleben's second one on July 9, 1976, and when John Curtis hit his on May 7, 1982. They wouldn't have to wait that long for their next one; Juan Eichelberger hit his just 15 days later. As you might suspect, that is the club record for shortest time between occurrences.
- The team record for number of pitchers tripling in a season is three, set in that 1982 season. Along with Curtis and Eichelberger, Lollar hit his first. Three other seasons have seen a pair of pitchers hit triples.
- Of the 19, only seven of them also collected at least one of each other type of base hit during their time with San Diego: Cashner, Young, Peavy, Eaton, Hamilton, Dravecky, and Lollar.
- John Curtis was the oldest Padres pitcher to hit a triple, at age 34. Freisleben was the youngest, at 22 years old his first time around.
- Peavy hit his lone triple in the same game that Aaron Rakers made his sole appearance for the Padres.