Isotopes are triple threats
Their four home runs, though, sink Reno in Saturday’s 5-1 win
Long before the Golden State Warriors were being credited for changing the NBA with their reliance on the 3-ball, Albuquerque’s Triple A baseball franchise has been trying to take advantage of the benefits of the triple.
And with all due respect to Justify’s current pursuit of the Triple Crown, Isotopes hitters have been getting on their horse out of the box after any ball hit in the gap for years, looking to stretch would-be doubles into three.
While Saturday night’s 5-1 Isotopes home win over the Reno Aces didn’t feature any triples — Albuquerque did launch four home runs — the organization is hitting triples this season like no one else in baseball.
It has as much to do with an aggressive mindset on the bases as it does with the dimensions of Isotopes Park, its deep right-center gap, and a uniquely configured hill in center field that includes two corner areas that are 428 feet from home plate.
“I think it does (have something to do with the park), but I also think that from a mindset perspective, a philosophy here we have as a team, it’s something we take a lot of pride in
— challenging outfielders, especially on balls to right-center or balls near the hill that sort of funnel into the corners here,” said Isotopes center fielder Mike Tauchman.
While Tauchman enjoyed the casual jog around the bases that came Saturday night with his two home runs in the ’Topes’ win, the 27-year-old has three triples in 25 games with the team this season. That gives him 18 all-time as an Isotopes player, tied with Noel Cuevas, now with the Rockies, and teammate Derrik Gibson for third on the career triples list for the organization. Eric Reed leads the organization with 25.
Gibson’s six triples in 34 games this season lead the PCL, and his 12 last season was one off the franchise record.
The Isotopes’ 27 triples through 43 games this season not only lead the Pacific Coast League and Triple-A baseball this season, it is comfortably ahead of any other professional franchise at any level. In second place in professional baseball are the Class A Inland Empire 66ers in San Bernardino, Calif., who have 21 this season. The leading MLB teams entering Saturday night’s action were the Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago Cubs, tied at 15.
Albuquerque led professional baseball in triples last season and is working on leading the PCL for a third season in a row.
It’s no coincidence Isotopes manager Glenallen Hill, who once hit 15 triples in a season with Triple-A Syracuse in 1989, has been a part of the franchise’s recent run.
“We work really hard on base running,” Hill said. “Most guys may hit a ball in the gap and they kind of shut her down before they get to second base. … When a ball’s hit in the gap, you run until the ball stops you.”
Gibson says flying out of the box with a possible triple on his mind in Isotopes Park, and knowing Hill encourages the team to be aggressive, is the main part of the equation. But he also can’t deny the yard he plays in helps.
“The gaps are little bigger here,” he said of Isotopes Park. “It’s 404 (feet) in right-center. And you’ve kind of got the little cubbies in center field (the uniquely shaped angles on either side of the hill at the base of the center field wall). If the ball goes in there, you know you’ve probably got a good shot at it.”
Roaming that vast center field at Isotopes Park on a regular basis on defense gives Tauchman an added appreciation for triples in Albuquerque.
“As an outfielder, sometimes you don’t realize just how far away you are (from third),” Tauchman said. “I’m betting that another team can’t make two perfect throws (from outfielder to cutoff man to third baseman) with a catch and a tag by the time we can get to third base.”
HOW SUITE: Paul Hartenberger, the Isotopes’ suite relations manager who has been with the organization from Day One at Isotopes Park, was honored on the field Saturday night — not only for his service with the team, but for turning 80. Fans sang him Happy Birthday.