One of the rarest plays in baseball

It's a feat that's even more rare than a perfect game (17 in major-league history), or even a player hitting four home runs in a game (15 times).

Asdrubal Cabrera of the Cleveland Indians turned the 14th unassisted triple play in major-league history on Monday night.

In a scoreless game, Marco Scutaro was on first and Kevin Mench was on second in the fifth inning of the second game of a doubleheader against the Toronto Blue Jays at Progressive Field in Cleveland. Toronto called a hit-and-run, and both Mench and Scutaro were running with the pitch by Cliff Lee. Cabrera made a diving catch on a line drive by Lyle Overbay, then touched second base to retire Mench, then tagged out Scutaro, who was on his way to second.

Cabrera was on the ball in the field, but not immediately after the play. He flipped the ball into the stands as he ran to the dugout.

"As he did, he cried out, 'Oh, no!' " first-base coach Luis Rivera told the Associated Press, serving as the Venezuelan's interpreter.

"I knew it was pretty special," Cabrera said.

It was only the 14th unassisted triple play in history, but the fourth since 2000. Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki made the last unassisted triple play in the majors, last April 29 against Atlanta. Oakland's Randy Velarde last turned one in the AL on May 29, 2000, against the Yankees.

There was a gap of 41 years without one, from 1927 to 1968. But they also came on back-to-back days back in 1927 as well, on May 30 and 31, by the Chicago Cubs' Jimmy Cooney and the Detroit Tigers' Johnny Neun.

And in another bizarre coincidence, a player who turned one was in attendance. Ron Hansen of the Washington Senators, who turned his on July 30, 1968, is an advance scout for the Phillies, who play Toronto this weekend. As a shortstop, he accomplished the same feat in the same manner, a line drive caught with runners on first and second with a hit-and-run on.

"I get asked about it all the time," Hansen told the AP. "They didn't have one for 41 years before me and then another 22 after I did it. It's that rare."

Even rarer: I'm sure this is the only time in baseball history that a team lost despite turning an unassisted triple play and while its pitcher (Lee) threw nine shutout innings. Cleveland lost 3-0 in 10 innings. Proof that you'll never know what you'll see in a ballpark on any given night.

Click here for a list of the unassisted triple plays in history.

Photo: Asdrubal Cabrera of the Cleveland Indians, shown here in the 2007 playoffs against the Red Sox, turned an unassisted triple play on May 12, 2008 against the Toronto Blue Jays. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)