Mickey Mantle Triple Crown Trophy
In baseball, the Triple Crown refers to:
- A batter who (at season's end) leads the league in three major categories -- home runs, runs batted in, and batting average.
- 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. Usually, when the "Triple Crown" is referred to without specifying batting or pitching, the batting Triple Crown is meant.
Fast facts[]
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.
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).
Batting Triple Crown winners[]
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 |
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 |
American Association winners[]
| Year | Batter | Team | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1887 | Tip O'Neill | St. Louis | 14 | 123 | .435 |
Pitching Triple Crown winners[]
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 |
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 |
American Association winners[]
| Year | Pitcher | Team | ERA | Wins | Ks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1884 | Guy Hecker | Louisville Colonels | 1.80 | 52 | 385 |
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, wherein 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.
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 |
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 |