Congratulations Jim Davis

Kudos and three attaboys to Boston Globe photographer Jim Davis, left, who says he's been prepared for more than 20 years just in case he ever got a chance to photograph a triple play. His chance finally came in the Red Sox game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday—and he was ready. Got the shots, all three of them. Boston.com has a short video of Jim describing how he did it.

Strong work. That'll make a nice triptych for the wall.

Mike
(Thanks to Chris Yeager and Robert B)

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Original contents copyright 2011 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved.

Featured Comment by John St. Onge: "Mike, On Monday night the Brewers performed a rare 4-6-3-2 triple play against the L.A. Dodgers at Miller park. I saw it on TV and it was amazing. Here's an analysis of the play."

Mike replies: That video is great. Thanks.

Featured Comment by John Bohn: "I had the pleasure of working alongside Jim Davis for nearly 20 years at the Boston Globe. Jim is never not prepared to successfully photograph a possible triple play! This goes along the thought process of a photographer keeping his head in the game at all times."

Comments

[Marc Rochkind]

Nice video... is there a link to the photos?

[Nico Burns]

Can someone please explain to this poor helpless British person what a triple play is?

[Mike Johnston]

Nico,
It's a rare play in baseball where the fielders get three opponents out in a single play.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_play

From a photographic standpoint, the play happens very quickly and on different areas of the field, so you have to have the knowledge to anticipate what's going to happen, the preparation to know how you want to shoot it, and the fast reflexes to do it.

Mike

[Robert B]

It took a Google search, as boston.com's search doesn't seem to be up to it:

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2011/08/sox_turn_triple.html

[Bryce Lee in Burlington Ontario]

I listened to Davis speak and maybe detected some form of foreign dialect in his speaking voice. Not US based, as far as I could ascertain.

As to the triple play images, being in the right place with the right equipment at hand does help.

[John St. Onge]

Mike,

On Monday night the Brewers performed a rare 4-6-3-2 triple play against the LA Dodgers at Miller park. I saw it on TV and it was amazing. Here's an analysis of the play.

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/128093363.html

John, Waukesha

[charlie]

Ha! That's awesome.

[Herman]

I would imagine that with a 36-MP camera, one could cover the entire infield, and then crop the action at any base.

[Shubh Mohan]

I'll take cricket any day.

[Mike Johnston]

Thanks Robert B. I've added the link to the post.

Mike

[Johan]

And please explain to this uninformed european what a "4-6-3-2 triple play" is!

[Mike Johnston]

Johan,
4-6-3-2 = second base to shortstop to first base to catcher.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_positions

Mike

[hugh crawford]

"Jim Davis, left, who says he's been prepared for more than 20 years just in case he ever got a chance to photograph a triple play."

Working in Boston would seem to be antithetical to preparation for photographing a triple play.

[Richard Parkin]

'And please explain to this uninformed european what a "4-6-3-2 triple play" is!'
For Europeans - it appears to be the equivalent of a hat-trick in cricket but rather more unlikely!

[DC Wells]

Great work. It also documented the absence of visible "socks" on the Sox. I never have understood that trend (or the one that has basketball players wearing skirts).

[Jeff]

One of the best parts of the Brewers' triple play is that the umps got it right. No unfortunate Jim Joyce situation this time...http://abcnews.go.com/US/video/perfect-gamenot-10813343

[geo ny]

BOSTON SUX-- But still, GREAT fotos by Jim Davis. That takes a lot of talent.
What can I say?--I'm a Yankee Fan and Boston still sux!!!

[Mike Johnston]

"Working in Boston would seem to be antithetical to preparation for photographing a triple play."

(For our European readers...Hugh is from New York, and the New York and Boston baseball teams have a long and sometimes serious rivalry. It includes "the Curse of the Bambino," which held that Boston would never win a World Series because it had traded Babe Ruth, the best baseball player of all time, to New York in the 1919-1920 off-season. When Boston finally did win a World Series, in 2004, they were down 0-3 in a best-of-seven series in the American League Championship series, and came back to win four games in a row and win the Championship, subsequently sweeping St. Louis for the World Series title (the World Series is played between the National League and American League Champions). The team Boston beat in the ACLS was New York. If you're from New York, this still stings. It's only been a mere seven years, which is nothing to baseball memories.

Of course, this internecine sniping between these two upstart American League teams is rather silly, because the National League is where real baseball has always been played.)

Mike

[Another european]

I am completely lost Mike, even after the explanation.

[Herman]

Not all Europeans are uninformed about baseball. In Holland, it's called honkball. The Dutch teams were regularly beaten by Italian teams, who were suspected of using American players with Italian names.

[David Dyer-Bennet]

I don't think I've ever seen the positions designated by numbers before. I know their names, and even some of what each job is, but the numbers thing is new to me.

[John Camp]

One of the most amazing things about baseball, which is unmatched by any other sport, as far as I know, is the exquisitely designed playing diamond that is so brilliantly matched to the abilities of the players. The pitcher's mound is a bit more than sixty feet from the plate; if it were three or four feet closer, a fastball would simply be unhittable even for most pro players. The bases are ninety feet apart; if they were ninety five feet, stealing would be almost impossible.

Some of the effects of these distances can be seen in fast-pitch softball, where the distances are not as keenly worked-out. Many games have hardly any scoring at all, because batters can't hit the ball against really good pitchers. The distance in men's international fast-pitch from the mound to the plate is only 46 feet, and given the high pitching speed, it's like trying to hit a 120-mile-per-hour fastball (of which there is no such thing.)

I don't like baseball as much as football, because it's a game that depends more on physicality and luck than on thought and strategy, but in many ways, it makes the widest range of demands on its players.

[hugh crawford]

"Of course, this internecine sniping between these two upstart American League teams is rather silly, because the National League is where real baseball has always been played."

Hey I'm a Mets Fan! Particularly the 1986 edition. I can't stand those insufferable Yankees fans with their effete designated hitters.

I was thinking more of the 17 year interval between triple plays in Boston.

Mike it is your turn to explain the 1986 world series and "designated hitters"

[Jeff]

I like National League ball as well, and am not a Yankees fan. But, really now, the Yankees have played in 40 of 106 World Series, with 27 world championships. No contest.

[Jeff]

@ David Dyer-Bennet...

Never seen anyone at the park keep a scorecard? One of the great baseball pastimes...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_scorekeeping

[Mike Johnston]

"But, really now, the Yankees have played in 40 of 106 World Series, with 27 world championships. No contest."

You've put your finger right on the problem...no contest. Biggest market, richest team, they buy all the talent money can buy. The only wonder is that they haven't won MORE than a quarter of all the World Series.

Mike

[Jeff]

Mike, how do you think the Phillies and Red Sox became more prominent in recent years (#2 and #3 in payroll)? It's always been about the money...not just for the Yankees, but the overall lack of a salary cap in baseball like in the NFL. Then of course there are teams like my Orioles that demonstrate bad management can offset any amount of money. :(

[Chris]

Let me wrap up this thread with a response to one of the many posts here:

"I listened to Davis speak and maybe detected some form of foreign dialect in his speaking voice. Not US based, as far as I could ascertain."

Bryce, that is a species of the local accent. If the bar at "Cheers" on Boston Common could talk, that is exactly how it would sound....

Chris