Triple Crown in Baseball

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Winning and achieving the Triple Crown in baseball is one of baseball’s rarest and most difficult feats. 

Baseball Triple Crown or Triple Crown in baseball is when one player leads their league (American or National) in all 3 categories of Batting Average, Home Runs, and RBIs. 

To be awarded, or “crowned” as a winner of the Triple Crown, a player must lead in all 3of these categories when the season is finished and all stats for all players have been accumulated. 

No physical award or trophy is given to a player who wins the Triple Crown. Instead, it’s just known throughout baseball that the player won the Triple Crown.

Winning the triple crown will inevitably help boost their MVP chances, where more than likely that player would win their leagues MVP Award. 

The three categories for a Triple Crown of batting average, homeruns, and RBIs are widely looked at as the main stats on offense to evaluate a batter.

Although no award is given to a player who wins the Triple Crown in baseball, they will still go down in the record books in baseball history.

How rare is the Triple Crown in MLB?

Winning the Triple Crown is extremely rare, and very few players have ever won it. The reason winning a Triple Crown in MLB is so rare is because of the combination of the type of hitter one must be to win it. 

It’s not just about power and hitting home runs. That power hitter also must be able to hit for a high batting average.

A lot of times in baseball you’ll see the batting average title go to a player who gets a lot of singles and doubles, but not homeruns. On that same note, typically home run leaders don’t hit for the highest average. 

Being able to do all three means you can hit for average, power, and drive in runs. 

Just how rare is the Triple Crown in MLB? 

Throughout the entire history of baseball, only 27 times has a player ever won the Triple Crown. This includes both MLB and Negros Leagues.

That’s why winning the Triple Crown in baseball is one of the rarest accomplishments in all of baseball. 

Of the 27 Triple Crown Winners, just 5 have occurred in the modern era (1947 to present). Only 5 winners of the Triple Crown in the last 75 years! 

In fact, Miguel Cabrera is the last player, or most recent player, to have won the Triple Crown in baseball, and that was in 2012. 

We have now gone a decade plus without a Triple Crown winner. On top of that, when Miguel Cabrera won the Triple Crown in 2012, it was the first by any player since 1967, a span of 45 years! 

Who has won the Triple Crown in Baseball?

According to baseball reference, there have been 27 winners of baseball’s Triple Crown throughout baseball history. The most recent winner is Miguel Cabrera in 2012. 

The list includes Major League Baseball (AL or NL), Negro League Baseball (NNL and NAL), Eastern Colored League (ECL), and American Association Baseball (AA).  

For Major League Baseball (MLB), winning the Triple Crown has been accomplished just 16 times by 14 players. Only 2 players have ever won it twice: Rogers Hornsby in 1922 and 1925, and Ted Williams in 1942 and 1947. 

List of Baseball Triple Crown Winners by year (MLB players in Bold)

Year

Player

Team

League

Batting Average

HRs

RBIs

2012

Miguel Cabrera

Tigers

AL

0.330

44

139

1967

Carl Yastrzemski

Red Sox

AL

0.326

44

121

1966

Frank Robinson

Orioles

AL

0.316

49

122

1956

Mickey Mantle

Yankees

AL

0.353

52

130

1947

Ted Williams

Red Sox

AL

0.343

32

114

1942

Ted Williams

Red Sox

AL

0.356

36

137

1942

Lennie Pearson

Eagles/Grays

NNL2

0.347

11

56

1942

Ted Strong

Monarchs

NAL

0.364

6

32

1937

Joe Medwick

Cardinals

NL

0.374

31

154

1937

Josh Gibson

Grays

NNL2

0.417

20

73

1936

Josh Gibson

Crawfords

NNL2

0.389

18

66

1934

Lou Gehrig

Yankees

AL

0.363

49

165

1933

Jimmie Foxx

Athletics

AL

0.356

48

163

1933

Chuck Klein

Phillies

NL

0.368

28

120

1930

Willie Wells

Stars

NNL

0.411

17

114

1926

Mule Suttles

Stars

NNL

0.425

32

130

1925

Rogers Hornsby

Cardinals

NL

0.403

39

143

1925

Oscar Charleston

Grays

ECL

0.427

20

97

1924

Oscar Charleston

Giants

ECL

0.405

15

63

1923

Heavy Johnson

Monarchs

NNL

0.406

20

120

1922

Rogers Hornsby

Cardinals

NL

0.401

42

152

1921

Oscar Charleston

Grays

NNL

0.433

15

91

1912

Heinie Zimmermann

Cubs

NL

0.372

14

104

1909

Ty Cobb

Tigers

AL

0.377

9

109

1901

Nap Lajoie

Athletics

AL

0.426

14

125

1887

Tip O’Neill

Browns

AA

0.435

14

123

1878

Paul Hines

Grays

NL

0.358

4

50

*Bold = MLB

Triple Crown near misses

As a MLB season nears it’s end, some players go on what we as fans call “Triple Crown Watch”. This happens when a player is in the lead or close to the lead in the 3 Triple Crown categories.

The most recent Triple Crown watch was last season in 2022 with Aaron Judge. 

Judge was on a homerun watch most of 2022 as baseball fans watched closely to see if he would break the American League Record for Homeruns. Judge did so by hitting 62 homeruns in 2022, the most in the AL since Roger Maris hit 61 in 1961.

Some fans, which is up for much debate, consider Aaron Judge the true single season homerun King because the players ahead of him all happened during the Steroid Era. Whether or not we count the Steroid Era players, Aaron Judge’s 62 homeruns will still go down as one of the greatest offensive seasons in MLB History.

Besides just the home runs, in 2022 Aaron Judge was extremely close to winning the Triple Crown. Judge finished as the league leader in homeruns with 62 and RBIs with 131. He finished second in batting average at .311, just behind Luis Arraez at .316. So close!

In 2018, Christian Yelich was on the Triple Crown watch and came very close as well. Yelich finished as the league leader in average by a longshot, at .326 with the next closest at .310. Yelich came just 2 homeruns shy of the league lead for homeruns and just 1 RBI shy of the league lead for RBIs. Extremely close to the Triple Crown. 

Who will win the next Triple Crown?

When trying to predict the next Triple Crown Winner in MLB, we need to consider players who have consistently hit for power and average in their careers.

Along with new players that have the potential to do so as well. In my opinion, if there is a Triple Crown Winner in 2023 or 2024, it will most likely be accomplished by one of these players:

  • Aaron Judge
  • Mike Trout
  • Shohei Ohtani
  • Nolan Arenado
  • Paul Goldschmidt
  • Freddie Freeman
  • Yordan Alvarez
  • Jose Ramirez
  • Manny Machado
  • Juan Soto
  • Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

All of these players have proven in their careers that they can accomplish the rare feat of hitting for a high average, hit homeruns, and drive in runs. They all play on great offensive teams and have proven to be consistent at the plate. 

If I had to make a choice of the next Triple Crown Winner in Baseball, I would for sure pick one of these players. My bet is on Ohtani. 

Triple Crown in Baseball Wrap Up

In my opinion, it’s even more rare to see a Triple Crown winner now than ever before. I feel that in past eras of baseball, more hitters were a combination of power and average. On top of that, pitchers today on average throw significantly harder with more off-speed. 

Top that with how the MLB is now pitching changes and analytics, I think it’s just more difficult than ever before.

That said, when it hasn’t been done in the last 10 years, and prior to that the last 47 years, I guess it’s rare regardless.

Today many power hitters only hit for just power, and strikeouts aren’t a big concern to them. And players who hit for high averages, don’t hit a lot of homeruns. Having a combination of both has always been rare, and still is. At least the shift is now banned, meaning batting averages should increase. 

All told, achieving a Triple Crown in baseball is extremely rare and will always be.

Winning the Triple Crown is one of the greatest achievements in baseball. To be able to lead at the end of a season of 162 games in batting average, homeruns, and RBIs is truly remarkable and deserves a winning title such as “Crown”.