|
Triple
Crown Winners - Hitters
The Triple Crown is one of the most difficult feats for a baseball hitter to accomplish - it means leading the league in the three most
significant hitting categories: home runs, RBIs and batting average.
Few power hitters can hit for average well enough to lead the league in
average; similarly, few of the hitters who hit for average can also hit
for power. Only one Triple Crown winner has also led the league in steals - Ty
Cobb, in 1909, effectively accomplished a "Quadruple Crown."
Amazingly, Ted Williams accomplished this feat not once, but twice - in
1942, and again in 1947 after missing three years to WWII. In 1949,
Williams led the league in home runs (with 43) and RBI (with 159, tied
with Red Sox shortstop Vern Stephens), but lost the batting race to
Detroit third-baseman George Kell. Kell had 179 hits in 522 at-bats, for
a batting average of .3429, while Williams went 194-566, for an average
of .34275. A single hit either way would have changed the outcome.
| Year |
Name |
HR |
Avg |
RBI |
Team |
Lg |
| 1878 |
Paul
Hines |
4 |
.358 |
50 |
Providence
Grays |
NL |
| 1887 |
Tip
O'Neill |
14 |
.435 |
123 |
St.
Louis |
AA |
| 1894 |
Hugh
Duffy |
18 |
.440 |
145 |
Boston |
NL |
| 1901 |
Nap
Lajoie |
14 |
.426 |
125 |
Philadelphia |
AL |
| 1909 |
Ty Cobb |
9 |
.377 |
107 |
Detroit |
AL |
| 1922 |
Rogers
Hornsby |
42 |
.401 |
152 |
St.
Louis |
NL |
| 1925 |
Rogers
Hornsby |
39 |
.403 |
143 |
St.
Louis |
NL |
| 1933 |
Jimmie
Foxx |
48 |
.356 |
163 |
Philadelphia |
AL |
| 1933 |
Chuck
Klein |
28 |
.368 |
120 |
Philadelphia |
NL |
| 1934 |
Lou
Gehrig |
49 |
.363 |
165 |
New York |
AL |
| 1937 |
Joe
Medwick |
31 |
.374 |
154 |
St.
Louis |
NL |
| 1942 |
Ted
Williams |
36 |
.356 |
137 |
Boston |
AL |
| 1947 |
Ted
Williams |
32 |
.343 |
114 |
Boston |
AL |
| 1956 |
Mickey
Mantle |
52 |
.353 |
130 |
New York |
AL |
| 1966 |
Frank
Robinson |
49 |
.316 |
122 |
Baltimore |
AL |
| 1967 |
Carl
Yastrzemski |
44 |
.326 |
121 |
Boston |
AL |
|
