Triple crown (baseball)

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For other uses of this term, see Triple crown

In baseball, the Triple Crown refers to:

  1. A batter who (at season's end) leads the league in three major categories -- home runs, runs batted in, and batting average.
  2. A pitcher who (at season's end) leads the league in three major categories -- earned run average, wins, and strikeouts.

In the popular imagination, the Triple Crown is often thought of as the epitome of excellence in batting or pitching (even though sabermetric categories claim to be better measures of a player's productivity than the traditional Triple-Crown categories). The batting Triple Crown is the more difficult achievement, and has not been achieved since 1967. Generally, when the "Triple Crown" is referred to without specifying batting or pitching, the batting Triple Crown is meant.

Contents

[edit] Fast facts

[edit] Batting

  • Last Triple Crown winner: Carl Yastrzemski, BOS, 1967.
  • Last American League Triple Crown Winner (lead AL in all 3 categories): Carl Yastrzemski, BOS, 1967.
  • Last National League Triple Crown Winner (lead NL in all 3 categories): Joe Medwick, STL-N, 1937.
  • Only Two-Time Winners: Rogers Hornsby, STL-N, 1922, 1925; Ted Williams, BOS-A, 1942, 1947.

[edit] Pitching

  • Last Triple Crown Winner: Johan Santana, MIN, 2006.
  • Last American League Triple Crown Winner (lead AL in all 3 categories): Johan Santana, MIN, 2006.
  • Last National League Triple Crown Winner (lead NL in all 3 categories): Randy Johnson, ARI, 2002.
  • Most Triple Crowns: Grover Cleveland Alexander, 4 (PHI-N, 1915, 1916, 1917; CHI-N, 1920).

[edit] Batting Triple Crown winners

[edit] National League winners

Year Batter Team HR RBI AVG
1878 Paul Hines Providence 4 50 .358
1894 Hugh Duffy Boston 18 145 .440
1922 Rogers Hornsby St. Louis 42 152 .401
1925 Rogers Hornsby St. Louis 39 143 .403
1933 Chuck Klein Philadelphia 28 120 .368
1937 Joe Medwick St. Louis 31 154 .374

[edit] American League winners

Year Batter Team HR RBI AVG
1901 Nap Lajoie Philadelphia 14 125 .426
1909 Ty Cobb Detroit 9 107 .377
1933 Jimmie Foxx Philadelphia 48 163 .356
1934 Lou Gehrig New York 49 165 .363
1942 Ted Williams Boston 36 137 .356
1947 Ted Williams Boston 32 114 .343
1956 Mickey Mantle New York 52 130 .353
1966 Frank Robinson Baltimore 49 122 .316
1967 Carl Yastrzemski Boston 44 121 .326

[edit] American Association winners

Year Batter Team HR RBI AVG
1887 Tip O'Neill St. Louis 14 123 .435

[edit] Pitching Triple Crown winners

[edit] National League winners

Year Pitcher Team ERA Wins Ks
1877 Tommy Bond Boston 2.11 40 170
1884 Charles Radbourn Providence 1.38 60 441
1888 Tim Keefe N.Y. Giants 1.74 35 333
1889 John Clarkson Boston 2.73 49 284
1894 Amos Rusie N.Y. Giants 2.78 36 195
1905 Christy Mathewson N.Y. Giants 1.27 31 206
1908 Christy Mathewson N.Y. Giants 1.43 37 259
1915 Grover Alexander Philadelphia 1.22 31 241
1916 Grover Alexander Philadelphia 1.55 33 167
1917 Grover Alexander Philadelphia 1.86 30 201
1918 Hippo Vaughn Chicago 1.74 22 148
1920 Grover Alexander Chicago 1.91 27 173
1924 Dazzy Vance Brooklyn 2.16 28 262
1939 Bucky Walters Cincinnati 2.29 27 137
1963 Sandy Koufax Los Angeles 1.88 25 306
1965 Sandy Koufax Los Angeles 2.04 26 382
1966 Sandy Koufax Los Angeles 1.73 27 317
1972 Steve Carlton Philadelphia 1.97 27 310
1985 Dwight Gooden N.Y. Mets 1.53 24 268
2002 Randy Johnson Arizona 2.32 24 334

[edit] American League winners

Year Pitcher Team ERA Wins Ks
1901 Cy Young Boston 1.62 33 158
1905 Rube Waddell Philadelphia 1.48 26 287
1913 Walter Johnson Washington 1.09 36 243
1918 Walter Johnson Washington 1.27 23 162
1924 Walter Johnson Washington 2.72 23 158
1930 Lefty Grove Philadelphia 2.54 28 209
1931 Lefty Grove Philadelphia 2.06 31 175
1934 Lefty Gómez New York 2.33 26 158
1937 Lefty Gómez New York 2.33 21 194
1945 Hal Newhouser Detroit 1.81 25 212
1997 Roger Clemens Toronto 2.05 21 292
1998 Roger Clemens Toronto 2.65 20 271
1999 Pedro Martínez Boston 2.07 23 313
2006 Johan Santana Minnesota 2.77 19 245

[edit] American Association winners

Year Pitcher Team ERA Wins Ks
1884 Guy Hecker Louisville Colonels 1.80 52 385

[edit] Major League Triple Crown

In general, when one refers to a player as having won a Triple Crown, they mean that the player led his own league in the three categories. A superior but less frequent circumstance is the Major League Triple Crown, wherin which the player leads the entire major leagues in each of the three categories and not just his individual league. Since the birth of the American League in 1901, five hitters and eight pitchers have accomplished this feat, although Walter Johnson, Grover Cleveland Alexander, and Lefty Grove have done it twice for pitching, and Sandy Koufax has done it three times. The most recent Major League Triple Crown Winners were Mickey Mantle in 1956 for hitting, and Johan Santana in 2006 for pitching.

[edit] Major League Winners - batting

Year Batter Team HR RBI AVG
1909 Ty Cobb Detroit 9 107 .377
1925 Rogers Hornsby St. Louis (NL) 39 143 .403
1934 Lou Gehrig New York (AL) 49 165 .363
1942 Ted Williams Boston (AL) 36 137 .356
1956 Mickey Mantle New York (AL) 52 130 .353

[edit] Major League Winners - pitching

Year Pitcher Team ERA Wins Ks
1913 Walter Johnson Washington (AL) 1.09 36 243
1915 Grover Alexander Philadelphia (NL) 1.22 31 241
1917 Grover Alexander Philadelphia (NL) 1.86 30 201
1918 Walter Johnson Washington (AL) 1.27 23 162
1924 Dazzy Vance Brooklyn 2.16 28 262
1930 Lefty Grove Philadelphia (AL) 2.54 28 209
1931 Lefty Grove Philadelphia (AL) 2.06 31 175
1945 Hal Newhouser Detroit 1.81 25 212
1963 Sandy Koufax Los Angeles (NL) 1.88 25 306
1965 Sandy Koufax Los Angeles (NL) 2.04 26 382
1966 Sandy Koufax Los Angeles (NL) 1.73 27 317
1985 Dwight Gooden New York (NL) 1.53 24 268
2006 Johan Santana Minnesota 2.77 19 245
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