In the top of the eighth inning of Sunday afternoon’s 9-1 Dodgers rout of the Cincinnati Reds at Dodger Stadium, a play occurred that most baseball fans have never seen before.

With runners at the corners and no outs against 24-year-old Dodgers left-hander Justin Bruihl, Reds third baseman Colin Moran hit a laser shot ground ball to new Dodgers folk hero first baseman Freddie Freeman. Without a hint of hesitation, the 32-year-old five-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glover stepped on the bag to get Moran and fired an absolute dart to Dodgers catcher Will Smith to complete what is scored as an extremely rare 3U [unassisted] /3-2 double play.

But here’s the thing. Not only was this play a rare treat for Dodger fans to witness, it was a rare feat in and of itself.

“No, that doesn’t really happen ever,” Freeman said with a laugh when asked about it after the game. “It’s just, I was diving and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to get the guy at second base. And, you know, obviously, the base runners are advancing first and third, no outs, and obviously, he was going home on the grounder, so that was the only play I had to try to turn a double play, and that was the only chance I [had] was to go home with it. Glad it worked out.

“It just came right at my glove, I was just a step away from the bag, and I was able to make a good throw and Will made a good tag, and so it all worked out,” Freeman added.

In addition to his incredible (and incredibly rare) 3U/3-2 double play, Freeman went 4-for-5 at the plate – all singles – with three runs batted in; all to the new Dodger fan-favorite chant of “Fred-dee,” “Fred-dee,” “Fred-dee,”

When you put it all together, this post on Twitter by the Dodgers pretty much sums it all up:

Play Ball!

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