Triple Crown (baseball)

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In baseball, a player earns a Triple Crown when he leads a league in three specific statistical categories in the same season. The term "Triple Crown" generally refers to the batting achievement of leading a league in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in (RBI) over the same season. The term "Pitching Triple Crown" refers to the pitching achievement of leading a league in wins, strikeouts, and earned run average (ERA).

The term "Triple Crown" is typically used when a player leads one league, such as the American League (AL) or the National League (NL), in the specified categories. A tie for a lead in any category, such as home runs, is sufficient to be considered the leader in that category. A "Major League Triple Crown" may be said to occur when a player leads all of Major League Baseball in all three categories.

Hitting Triple Crown

Rogers Hornsby (left) and Ted Williams (right) are the only MLB batters to have won the Triple Crown twice. Hornsby achieved this in 1922 and 1925, while Williams accomplished this in 1942 and 1947.

The term "Triple Crown", unless modified, generally connotes the batting achievement; it is not necessary to refer to it as the "hitting" Triple Crown. A hitter who completes a season leading a league in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in (RBI) may be said to have won the "Triple Crown."

The Triple Crown reflects the ability of a hitter to excel in three important ways: to hit safely a high percentage of the time (batting average); to hit the ball long distances (home runs); and to produce when runners are on base, driving them home to score (RBI). It is an uncommon feat to lead all hitters in each of these categories. It has been accomplished 17 times in major league seasons, most recently in 2012 by Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera's was the first since 1967, when Carl Yastrzemski accomplished the feat. Yastrzemski won the Triple Crown the year after Frank Robinson did, the only time back-to-back Triple Crowns occurred in baseball history.

Hiromitsu Ochiai and Oscar Charleston are the only players to have won three batting Triple Crowns in any league. Ochiai won in 1982, 1985, and 1986 while competing in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball. Charleston won in 1921 while playing in the Negro National League, and again in 1924 and 1925 while playing in the Eastern Colored League. In the American League and National League, the most batting Triple Crowns won by a player is two. Rogers Hornsby was the first to accomplish it, winning his first in 1922 and then leading both leagues in 1925 en route to his second Triple Crown, both with the St. Louis Cardinals. Ted Williams later matched this mark, leading both leagues in 1942 and the American League in 1947, both with the Boston Red Sox. Ochai and Randy Bass each recorded Triple Crowns in consecutive seasons in the Nippon League, in 1985 and 1986.

The Cardinals have won the most hitting Triple Crowns as a franchise with four. Along with Hornsby's two, Tip O'Neill won in the now-defunct American Association in 1887 while the team was known as the St. Louis Browns, and Joe Medwick added the Cardinals' fourth in 1937. Eleven of the thirteen eligible players who have batting Triple Crowns have been elected to the Hall of Fame. Baseball journalist Tim Kurkjian believes the Triple Crown has become more difficult to win with the advent of more hitters who choose to specialize in either hitting for batting average or power.

Pitching Triple Crown

A pitcher who leads the league in wins, strikeouts, and earned run average (ERA) is said to have won the "Pitching Triple Crown." The term was previously defined as leading the league in wins, ERA, and winning percentage. It was used in that older sense to describe the unsuccessful pursuits of that goal by Bobby Shantz in 1952 and Johnny Antonelli in 1954 as well as Sandy Koufax in 1963. Koufax was first described as having won the Pitching Triple Crown in the current sense after his 1965 season, though the older sense continued to be used.

In contrast to the respective batting statistics, the Pitching Triple Crown statistics are more or less complementary (for example, a pitcher who is especially proficient at striking out batters is likely to give up fewer earned runs, and consequently more likely to win games); therefore, the accomplishment is not as rare as the batting crown.

The Pitching Triple Crown has been accomplished 39 times in the American and National Leagues. The most by one player is three, accomplished by three players. Grover Cleveland Alexander captured his first two in consecutive seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies (1915–1916), and won a third in 1920 with the Chicago Cubs. Alexander is the only pitcher to win a Pitching Triple Crown with more than one major league team. Walter Johnson won his three Triple Crowns with the original Washington Senators, leading the league in all three categories in 1913, 1918, and 1924. Sandy Koufax was the most recent to capture three Triple Crowns, winning his three within four seasons for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1963, 1965–1966); all of Koufax's crowns led both major leagues, the most for any player.

Outside MLB, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Sun Dong-yol each won three pitching triple crowns and are the only players to earn this achievement in three consecutive seasons. Yamamoto achieved this record in the NPB from 2021 to 2023, and Sun Dong-yol achieved it in the KBO League from 1989 to 1991.

Other major league pitchers who have won multiple Pitching Triple Crowns include Christy Mathewson (1905 and 1908 New York Giants), Lefty Grove (1930 and 1931 Philadelphia Athletics), Lefty Gomez (1934 and 1937 New York Yankees), and Roger Clemens (1997 and 1998 Toronto Blue Jays).

One pitcher, Guy Hecker, won a Triple Crown in a defunct 19th century major league; he led the original American Association in wins, strikeouts, and ERA in 1884 while pitching for the Louisville Colonels.

Eighteen of 24 major league pitchers who have won a Triple Crown and are eligible for the Hall of Fame have been inducted. The Triple Crown winners who most recently became eligible for the Hall are Pedro Martínez and Randy Johnson. Both were elected to the Hall of Fame in 2015, each in their first year of eligibility.

The most recent major league pitchers to achieve the feat are Chris Sale and Tarik Skubal in 2024. As of 2024, every MLB pitcher who has achieved the Triple Crown has concurrently won the Cy Young Award for that season.

Major league records

The first major league pitcher to achieve the pitching Triple Crown was Tommy Bond, in the NL in 1877. The following year, Paul Hines became the first major leaguer to lead the NL in the three batting categories; he, Heinie Zimmerman, and Miguel Cabrera are the only three players to be AL or NL Triple Crown winners and not reach the Hall of Fame, although Cabrera will not be eligible for induction until 2029. The highest home run total reached by a Crown winner was Mickey Mantle, with 52 in 1956. The highest RBI total belongs to Lou Gehrig, with 165 in 1934. Rogers Hornsby has the highest home run total by an NL winner, 42, from his 1922 season. The NL high for RBI is 154, set by Joe Medwick in 1937. Hugh Duffy's .440 average in his 1894 Triple Crown season is the highest batting average by any player in major league history. Nap Lajoie, in 1901, set the all-time AL single-season high in batting average with .426.

Among the major leaguers who earned the pitching Triple Crown, the lowest ERAs belong to Walter Johnson (1.14 in 1913 AL) and Grover Alexander (1.22 in 1915 NL). The highest win total belongs to Charles Radbourn, amassed in 1884, who in that year set a major league single-season record with at least 59 wins. Radbourn struck out 441 batters that season, the highest total for a Triple Crown winner. Walter Johnson holds the highest win total by an AL pitching Triple Crown winner, with 36 in 1913. Among AL pitching Triple Crown winners, Pedro Martínez registered the highest season strikeout total, with 313 in 1999. Since 1901, the major league pitcher with the highest season strikeout total in the course of a Triple Crown season is Sandy Koufax, striking out 382 in 1965.

Triple Crown winners

Key
Year Links to the article about the corresponding Professional Baseball season
† Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum or Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame
‡ Player is active
* Denotes "Major League" Triple Crown
§ Player also won the MVP Award in the same year
HR Home runs
RBI Runs batted in
AVG Batting average
W Wins
K Strikeouts
ERA Earned run average
NL National League
AL American League
AA American Association
CL Central League
PL Pacific League
NNL Negro National League (1920–1931)
ECL Eastern Colored League
NAL Negro American League
NN2 Negro National League (1933–1948)

Major League Baseball

Batting

Research in 2015 restored the Chicago Cubs' Heinie Zimmerman of 1912 to the list. There is doubt over whether Hugh Duffy's 1894 RBI totals were the highest.

Year Player Position Team League HR RBI AVG Ref(s)
1878 Paul Hines Center fielder Providence Grays NL 4* 50* .358*
1887 Tip O'Neill Left fielder St. Louis Browns AA 14 123 .435
1894 Hugh Duffy† Outfielder Boston Beaneaters NL 18 145 .440
1901 Nap Lajoie† Second baseman Philadelphia Athletics AL 14 125 .426
1909 Ty Cobb† Right fielder Detroit Tigers AL 9* 107* .377*
1912 Heinie Zimmerman Third baseman Chicago Cubs NL 14 104 .372
1922 Rogers Hornsby† Second baseman St. Louis Cardinals NL 42 152 .401
1925 Rogers Hornsby† Second baseman St. Louis Cardinals NL 39* 143* .403*
1933 Jimmie Foxx†§ First baseman Philadelphia Athletics AL 48 163 .356
1933 Chuck Klein† Right fielder Philadelphia Phillies NL 28 120 .368
1934 Lou Gehrig† First baseman New York Yankees AL 49* 165* .363*
1937 Joe Medwick†§ Left fielder St. Louis Cardinals NL 31 154 .374
1942 Ted Williams† Left fielder Boston Red Sox AL 36* 137* .356*
1947 Ted Williams† Left fielder Boston Red Sox AL 32 114 .343
1956 Mickey Mantle†§ Center fielder New York Yankees AL 52* 130* .353*
1966 Frank Robinson†§ Right fielder Baltimore Orioles AL 49 122 .316
1967 Carl Yastrzemski†§ Left fielder Boston Red Sox AL 44 121 .326
2012 Miguel Cabrera§ Third baseman Detroit Tigers AL 44 139 .330

Pitching

Chris Sale (top) and Tarik Skubal (bottom) are the most recent pitching Triple Crown winners, both achieving the feat in 2024
Year Player Team League ERA W K Ref(s)
1877 Tommy Bond Boston Red Caps NL 2.11 40 170
1884 Guy Hecker Louisville Colonels AA 1.80 52 385
1884 Charles Radbourn† Providence Grays NL 1.38 59 441
1888 Tim Keefe† New York Giants NL 1.74 35 335
1889 John Clarkson† Boston Beaneaters NL 2.73 49 284
1894 Amos Rusie† New York Giants NL 2.78 36 195
1901 Cy Young† Boston Americans AL 1.62 33 158
1905 Christy Mathewson† New York Giants NL 1.27 31 206
1905 Rube Waddell† Philadelphia Athletics AL 1.48 27 287
1908 Christy Mathewson† New York Giants NL 1.43 37 259
1913 Walter Johnson† Washington Senators AL 1.14* 36* 243*
1915 Grover Cleveland Alexander† Philadelphia Phillies NL 1.22* 31* 241*
1916 Grover Cleveland Alexander† Philadelphia Phillies NL 1.55 33 167
1918 Walter Johnson† Washington Senators AL 1.27* 23* 162*
1918 Hippo Vaughn Chicago Cubs NL 1.74 22 148
1920 Grover Cleveland Alexander† Chicago Cubs NL 1.91 27 173
1924 Walter Johnson† Washington Senators AL 2.72 23 158
1924 Dazzy Vance† Brooklyn Robins NL 2.16* 28* 262*
1930 Lefty Grove† Philadelphia Athletics AL 2.54* 28* 209*
1931 Lefty Grove†§ Philadelphia Athletics AL 2.06* 31* 175*
1934 Lefty Gomez† New York Yankees AL 2.33 26 158
1937 Lefty Gomez† New York Yankees AL 2.33 21 194
1939 Bucky Walters§ Cincinnati Reds NL 2.29 27 137
1940 Bob Feller† Cleveland Indians AL 2.61 27 261
1945 Hal Newhouser†§ Detroit Tigers AL 1.81* 25* 212*
1963 Sandy Koufax†§ Los Angeles Dodgers NL 1.88* 25* 306*
1965 Sandy Koufax† Los Angeles Dodgers NL 2.04* 26* 382*
1966 Sandy Koufax† Los Angeles Dodgers NL 1.73* 27* 317*
1972 Steve Carlton† Philadelphia Phillies NL 1.97 27 310
1985 Dwight Gooden New York Mets NL 1.53* 24* 268*
1997 Roger Clemens Toronto Blue Jays AL 2.05 21 292
1998 Roger Clemens Toronto Blue Jays AL 2.65 20 271
1999 Pedro Martínez† Boston Red Sox AL 2.07 23 313
2002 Randy Johnson† Arizona Diamondbacks NL 2.32 24 334
2006 Johan Santana Minnesota Twins AL 2.77* 19* 245*
2007 Jake Peavy San Diego Padres NL 2.54 19 240
2011 Clayton Kershaw‡ Los Angeles Dodgers NL 2.28 21 248
2011 Justin VerlanderठDetroit Tigers AL 2.40 24 250
2020 Shane Bieber‡ Cleveland Indians AL 1.63* 8* 122*
2024 Chris Sale‡ Atlanta Braves NL 2.38 18 225
2024 Tarik Skubal‡ Detroit Tigers AL 2.39 18 228

Negro league baseball

On December 16, 2020, Major League Baseball announced that the records of Negro league baseball from 1920 to 1948 would be designated as major league status. As such, seven different leagues that existed in that time period are now recognized as being on the same level as MLB. Seven batters and four pitchers achieved the Triple Crown in that era.

Batting

Year Player Position Team League HR RBI AVG Ref(s)
1921 Oscar Charleston† Center fielder St. Louis Giants NNL 15 91 .433
1923 Heavy Johnson Outfielder Kansas City Monarchs NNL 20 120 .406
1924 Oscar Charleston† Center fielder Harrisburg Giants ECL 15 63 .405
1925 Oscar Charleston† Center fielder Harrisburg Giants ECL 20 97 .427
1926 Mule Suttles† First baseman St. Louis Stars NNL 32 130 .425
1930 Willie Wells† Shortstop St. Louis Stars NNL 17 114 .411
1936 Josh Gibson† Catcher Pittsburgh Crawfords NNL2 18 66 .389
1937 Josh Gibson† Catcher Homestead Grays NNL2 20 73 .417
1942 Ted Strong Right field Kansas City Monarchs NAL 6 32 .364
1942 Lennie Pearson First baseman Newark Eagles NNL2 11 56 .347

Pitching

Year Player Team League ERA W K Ref(s)
1934 Slim Jones Philadelphia Stars NN2 1.24 20 164
1938 Ray Brown† Homestead Grays NN2 1.88 14 70
1938 Hilton Smith† Kansas City Monarchs NAL 1.92 9 88
1943 Johnny Wright Homestead Grays NN2 2.54 18 94

Nippon Professional Baseball

Batting

Year Player Position Team League HR RBI AVG Ref(s)
1938 Fall Haruyasu Nakajima † § First Baseman Tokyo Giants JPBL 10* 38* .361*
1965 Katsuya Nomura † § Catcher Nankai Hawks PL 42 110 .320
1973 Sadaharu Oh † § First Baseman Yomiuri Giants CL 51 114 .355
1974 Sadaharu Oh † § First Baseman Yomiuri Giants CL 49 107 .332
1982 Hiromitsu Ochiai † § Third Baseman Lotte Orions PL 32 99 .325
1984 Greg Wells § First baseman Hankyu Braves PL 37 130 .355
1985 Hiromitsu Ochiai † § Third Baseman Lotte Orions PL 52 146 .367
1985 Randy Bass † § First Baseman Hanshin Tigers CL 54 134 .350
1986 Hiromitsu Ochiai † Third Baseman Lotte Orions PL 50 116 .360
1986 Randy Bass † First Baseman Hanshin Tigers CL 47 109 .389
2004 Nobuhiko Matsunaka § Left Fielder Fukuoka Daiei Hawks PL 44 120 .358
2022 Munetaka Murakami ठThird Baseman Tokyo Yakult Swallows CL 56 134 .318

Pitching

Year Player Team League ERA W K Ref(s)
1937 Spring Eiji Sawamura † § Tokyo Giants JPBL 0.81* 24* 196* [citation needed]
1938 Fall Victor Starffin † Tokyo Giants JPBL 1.05* 19* 146* [citation needed]
1943 Hideo Fujimoto † Tokyo Giants JPBL 0.73* 34* 253* [citation needed]
1948 Hiroshi Nakao Yomiuri Giants JPBL 1.84* 27* 187* [citation needed]
1954 Shigeru Sugishita † § Chunichi Dragons CL 1.39 32 273 [citation needed]
1954 Motoji Takuwa Nankai Hawks PL 1.58 26 275 [citation needed]
1958 Masaichi Kaneda † Kokutetsu Swallows CL 1.30 31 311 [citation needed]
1958 Kazuhisa Inao† § Nishitetsu Lions PL 1.42 33 334 [citation needed]
1959 Tadashi Sugiura † Nankai Hawks PL 1.40 38 336 [citation needed]
1961 Hiroshi Gondo † Chunichi Dragons CL 1.70 35 310 [citation needed]
1961 Kazuhisa Inao † Nishitetsu Lions PL 1.69 42 353 [citation needed]
1978 Keishi Suzuki† Kintetsu Buffaloes PL 2.02 25 178 [citation needed]
1980 Isamu Kida Nippon Ham Fighters PL 2.28 22 225 [citation needed]
1981 Suguru Egawa Yomiuri Giants CL 2.29 20 221 [citation needed]
1985 Tatsuo Komatsu Chunichi Dragons CL 2.65 17 172 [citation needed]
1990 Hideo Nomo † Kintetsu Buffaloes PL 2.91 18 287 [citation needed]
1999 Koji Uehara Yomiuri Giants CL 2.09 20 179 [citation needed]
2006 Kazumi Saito Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks PL 1.75 18 205 [citation needed]
2010 Kenta Maeda ‡ Hiroshima Carp CL 2.21 15 174 [citation needed]
2018 Tomoyuki Sugano ‡ Yomiuri Giants CL 2.14 15 200
2020 Kodai Senga ‡ Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks PL 2.16 11 149
2021 Yoshinobu Yamamoto ठOrix Buffaloes PL 1.39* 18* 206*
2022 Yoshinobu Yamamoto ठOrix Buffaloes PL 1.68* 15* 205*
2023 Yoshinobu Yamamoto ठOrix Buffaloes PL 1.21 16 169

KBO League

Batting

Year Player Position Team HR RBI AVG Ref(s)
1984 Lee Man-soo Catcher Samsung Lions 23 80 .340
2006 Lee Dae-ho First Baseman Lotte Giants 26 88 .336
2010 Lee Dae-ho § Third Baseman Lotte Giants 44 133 .364

Pitching

Since the KBO League's strikeout titles began to be officially awarded in the 1993 season, the criteria for KBO League pitchers Triple Crown until 1992 are wins, ERA, and a pitcher's winning percentage.

The Standard of 1982–1992
Year Player Team WPCT ERA W K SO Rank Ref(s)
1982 Park Chul-soon § OB Bears .857 1.84 24 108 2nd [citation needed]
1989 Sun Dong-yol § Haitai Tigers .875 1.17 21 198 1st [citation needed]
1990 Sun Dong-yol § Haitai Tigers .786 1.13 22 189 1st [citation needed]
1991 Sun Dong-yol § Haitai Tigers .826 1.55 19 210 1st [citation needed]
The Standard of 1993–
Year Player Team ERA W K Ref(s)
1986 Sun Dong-yol § Haitai Tigers 0.99 24 214 [citation needed]
2006 Ryu Hyun-jin § Hanwha Eagles 2.23 18 204 [citation needed]
2011 Yoon Suk-min § KIA Tigers 2.45 17 178 [citation needed]
2023 Erick Fedde § NC Dinos 2.00 20 209
2025 Cody Ponce § Hanwha Eagles 1.89 17 252

Sun Dong-yol won the MVP of the season in 1986 with getting annual wins, strikeout, and ERA title. But as mentioned above, the KBO League's pitcher triple crown standard at that time was a winning-rate title, not a strikeout, so it is officially considered that Sun Dong-yeol in 1986 did not achieve the triple crown. Sun Dong-yol's winning percentage in the 1986 season was .800, ranking 2nd in the league.

See also

Explanatory notes

  1. The major league season in 2020 was less than half the length of a typical season, starting in late July and condensed into 60 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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