Crawford, Pujols, and Elias …

After watching the Braves vs. Mets on MLB TV yesterday, I’ve got to say, life is just so much better with baseball. Now that spring games are fully underway I’m busy planning which regular season games I’ll be attending this summer.

So far I’ve got tickets for Rays vs. Red Sox, Braves vs. Giants, and in July my first visit to Target Field to see the Rays on the road vs. Minnesota … but hopefully that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

I am bummed about Carl Crawford going to the Red Sox. He’s been my favorite player for a long time and since most games I see are at The Trop, it’s definitely going to be weird watching him come back in a Red Sox jersey.

I was at The Trop once when Crawford did a straight steal of home vs. Boston. That’s a highlight I’ll never forget.

Another highlight I witnessed firsthand … and this one I actually emailed Elias about, but never got a response–Albert Pujols hit a home run vs. Tampa on June 18, 2005, and in the same game Crawford hit a triple. 

That’s pretty special–to see Pujols go yard and Crawford go for three. The previous year, in 2004, Crawford led the A.L. in triples and Pujols hit 46 home runs, but was second in the N.L. behind the 48 hit by Adrian Beltre. 

The reason I emailed Elias is because, being a trivia buff, I wondered if a reigning home run champion and a reigning triples champion had ever homered and tripled in the same game … but I guess since it was a moot point, with Pujols having been second the year before, I never heard back …

Still kind of wish I knew the answer. Anyone out there know?

It’s cool though … with luck, I’ll witness more amazing feats this summer.