Article: Let's Watch Jarren Duran Hit Some Triples (Part Two)

[Davy Andrews]

And now the thrilling conclusion to the two-part series in which Jarren Duran runs three-quarters of the way around the bases 14 times.

Fun Fact: 651 players came to the plate at least once during the 2024 season, and most of them didn’t hit a single triple. Jarren Duran, on the other hand, hit 14 triples (plus one during spring training). Yesterday, we broke down the first seven. Today we’ll continue with the second half, because if we didn't, that would be weird.

8. May 20, Rays
Duran’s eighth triple of the season came just one day after his seventh, and it was his first to the opposite field. In the top of the fourth, Taj Bradley fell behind 3-1, then threw a middle-middle fastball to Jarren Duran, which, yeah, maybe he shouldn’t have done that. The ball was begging to be crushed, and Duran obliged. In fact, he hit it so hard that, uncharacteristically, he watched it out of the box, thinking he’d gotten it all. The 350-foot blast would have made it out of 10 parks. Left fielder Richie Palacios tried to make a leaping catch, and the ball’s hard caromed off the wall and back toward the infield allowed Duran to coast to third.

9. June 5, Braves
Duran’s ninth triple of the season was an odd one that made full use of Fenway’s unique dimensions. Rookie Spencer Schwellenbach tried to hit the outside corner with a 97-mph four-seamer. Instead, he caught the middle of the plate, and Duran launched a 101-mph blast to center field. The towering fly ball had a projected distance of 378, and it hung in the air for approximately 5.5 weeks. Michael Harris II was camped out under it, but it hit so high up on the wall that that all he could do was wait for it to come down. He played the hop perfectly, but had no chance at catching Duran.

10. June 9, White Sox
Once again, a pitcher was foolish enough to throw a ball right down the middle to Duran, and once again, he paid the price. Duran yanked Chris Flexen’s changeup into the right field corner, and Oscar Colás, who made an excellent effort to get to the ball quickly, got a slightly softer bounce off the wall than he expected. That extra fraction of a second was all Duran needed, sliding into the bag before the short relay throw could arrive.

11. July 22, Rockies
With its expansive outfield, Coors Field is the most triple-friendly park all of baseball. According to Statcast’s park factors, it allows triples at nearly twice the rate of the average park. Duran ripped a 403-foot, opposite-field blast that would have been out of 27 parks, then flipped his bat for good measure. At Coors, however, the ball merely short-hopped the wall as center fielder Brenton Doyle slid vainly on the warning track. Left fielder Sam Hilliard played the high, ringing bounce well, but the depth and the high carom gave him no chance. Duran coasted into third well ahead of the throw.

12. July 24, Rockies
Did I mention that Coors surrenders a whole lot of triples? Although it took Duran more than a month to notch his 11th triple, he had to wait just two whole days for his 12th. Duran chased a changeup from Peter Lambert below the zone and hooked the ball down the line at 83.6 mph, his softest triple of the season. Right fielder Hunter Goodman had to run a half marathon to track the ball down in the corner. The triple knocked in two runs, bringing the score to 20-7 in favor of the Rockies. Duran fairly jogged around the bases, and had the game been closer, there’s at least some chance that he might have been sent home to attempt an inside-the-park homer.

13. August 8, Rangers
Duran’s penultimate three-bagger of the season was an extremely rare Duran Duran triple. He lifted a changeup right at the bottom of the strike zone into off the very base of the wall at Globe Life Field. Right fielder Ezequiel Duran was in no hurry to track the ball down and even less inclined to attempt a play at the wall. Jarren Duran, on the other hand, was hungry like the wolf, churning around the bases and diving into third without even drawing a throw. On the season, the two Durans combined for a total of…14 triples.

14. September 23, Blue Jays
Duran struggled down the stretch, running a wRC+ of just 60 over his final 27 games, and he waited six weeks for his final triple. It was worth it. Tommy Nance left a slider up and over the middle of the plate, and Duran launched it to center at 105.1 mph. The Blue Jays boasted two all-world center fielders in Kevin Kiermaier and Daulton Varsho, but Jonatan Clase was in center for this play, and he gave it everything he had. Clase chased the ball down leapt, despite not seeming to know exactly where it was. He whiffed badly and crashed into the wall like Wile E. Coyote. With the play in front of him, Duran powered into third prepared to head for home. He would have made it, as Clase overthrew the cutoff man, but unfortunately that happened just after Duran got the stop sign and started slowing down.

Watching all 14 of Duran’s triples, the real takeaway is that there were very few cheapies. Aside from Nolan Arenado losing a popup in the sun, you could blame the fielder or the park for remarkably few of them. He ripped the ball down the line, sprayed it into the gaps, and lifted it over the head of the center fielder. The defense only bothered to throw the ball to third on six of the 14 triples, and Duran only slid into the bag seven times. Not once was the play close enough that the fielder even bothered to apply a tag! He never once got caught trying to stretch a double into a triple. He just did a remarkable job of combining power, speed, and desire.  

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[moonslav59]

Amazing how on so many of these triples, you see where Duran is, when they cut to him running. This guy is FAST!