Triple Crown

Definition

One of the rarest seasons in all of sport is the Triple Crown year. A Batting Triple Crown is accomplished by leading, or tying for the league lead, in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in (RBI). A Pitching Triple Crown is accomplished by leading the league in wins, strikeouts, and earned run average all in the same season.

Batting Triple Crown

The Batting Triple Crown is considered so difficult to win because the rare player who leads the league in both Batting Average and Homeruns also needs a good team that puts men on base to have enough RBI opportunities to claim the third "Crown". This explains the fact that not one triple crown winner has played for a cellar team.

Fifteen players have won the Triple Crown since in the history of the Major Leagues. Of those, Rogers Hornsby and Ted Williams each won it twice. Williams came within a hair of winning a third Triple Crown in 1949. He lost the batting title to George Kell with an average of 0.3428, just short of Kell's 0.3429. Miguel Cabrera last accomplished the feat in 2012 in the American League. Joe Medwick was the last National Leaguer to do it in 1937. Babe Ruth never won a Triple Crown but he won the OBP Triple Crown 5 times in his career.

Heinie Zimmerman was credited with winning 1912 National League Triple Crown with a line of .372-14-98 based on contemporary statistics kept by Ernest Lanigan on behalf of The Sporting News (RBIs were not yet an official statistic, so there was no clear standard). However, later revisions came up with different totals and he was left off the list of winners. Revised totals compiled by David S. Neft and included in the first Baseball Encyclopedia in 1969 indicated that he finished that season with 99 RBI, 3 fewer than league-leader Honus Wagner and one behind Bill Sweeney. That became the standard, but there were such discrepancies between the various RBI totals in circulation for that year that researcher Herm Krabbenhoft decided to do a game-by-game review of RBI totals for the season in 2013, and the results were that Zimmerman had in fact led the league with 104 RBIs, followed by Wagner at 101 and Sweeney at 99. That research is now considered the most reliable and various reference sites, including Baseball-Reference.com, have reinstated Zimmerman among Triple Crown winners as a result.

The Triple Crown has been accomplished in Nippon Professional Baseball eleven times, most recently by Nobuhiko Matsunaka in 2004. Hiromitsu Ochiai won it three times in a five year span, and both Sadaharu Oh and Randy Bass each won it twice.

Major League Baseball

Triple Crown Winners

Season	League	Player	Team	AVG	HR	RBI
1878	NL	Paul Hines*	Providence Grays	0.358	4	50
1887	AA	Tip O'Neill	St. Louis Browns	0.435	14	123
1894	NL	Hugh Duffy	Boston Beaneaters	0.438	18	145
1901	AL	Nap Lajoie	Philadelphia Athletics	0.426	14	125
1909	AL	Ty Cobb*	Detroit Tigers	0.377	9	107
1912	NL	Heinie Zimmerman	Chicago Cubs	0.372	14	104
1921	NNL	Oscar Charleston	St. Louis Giants	0.433	15	91
1922	NL	Rogers Hornsby	St. Louis Cardinals	0.401	42	152
1924	ECL	Oscar Charleston	Harrisburg Giants	0.405	15	63
1925	NL	Rogers Hornsby*	St. Louis Cardinals	0.403	39	143
1925	ECL	Oscar Charleston	Harrisburg Giants	0.427	20	97
1926	NNL	Mule Suttles	St. Louis Stars	0.425	32	130
1930	NNL	Willie Wells	St. Louis Stars	0.411	17	114
1933	NL	Chuck Klein	Philadelphia Phillies	0.368	28	120
1933	AL	Jimmie Foxx	Philadelphia Athletics	0.356	48	163
1934	AL	Lou Gehrig*	New York Yankees	0.363	49	165
1936	NNL	Josh Gibson	Homestead Grays	0.389	18	66
1937	NL	Joe Medwick	St. Louis Cardinals	0.374	31	154
1937	NNL	Josh Gibson	Homestead Grays	0.417	20	73
1942	AL	Ted Williams*	Boston Red Sox	0.356	36	137
1942	NAL	Ted Strong	Kansas City Monarchs	0.364	6	32
1942	NNL	Lennie Pearson	Newark/Homestead	0.347	11	56
1947	AL	Ted Williams*	Boston Red Sox	0.343	32	114
1956	AL	Mickey Mantle*	New York Yankees	0.353	52	130
1966	AL	Frank Robinson	Baltimore Orioles	0.316	49	122
1967	AL	Carl Yastrzemski	Boston Red Sox	0.326	44	121
2012	AL	Miguel Cabrera	Detroit Tigers	0.330	44	139

* denotes MLB Triple Crown Winner

On Base % Triple Crown

Season	League	Player	Team	OBP	HR	RBI
1887	AA	Tip O'Neill	Browns	0.490	14	123
1901	AL	Nap Lajoie	Athletics	0.463	14	125
1909	AL	Ty Cobb	Tigers	0.431	9	107
1915	NL	Gavvy Cravath	Phillies	0.393	24	115
1919	AL	Babe Ruth	Red Sox	0.456	29	114
1920	AL	Babe Ruth	Yankees	0.532	54	137
1921	AL	Babe Ruth	Yankees	0.512	59	171
1922	NL	Rogers Hornsby	Cardinals	0.459	42	152
1923	AL	Babe Ruth	Yankees	0.545	41	131
1925	NL	Rogers Hornsby	Cardinals	0.489	39	143
1926	AL	Babe Ruth	Yankees	0.516	47	146
1933	NL	Chuck Klein	Phillies	0.422	28	120
1934	AL	Lou Gehrig	Yankees	0.465	49	165
1942	AL	Ted Williams	Red Sox	0.499	36	137
1947	AL	Ted Williams	Red Sox	0.499	32	114
1949	AL	Ted Williams	Red Sox	0.490	43	159
1966	AL	Frank Robinson	Orioles	0.410	49	122
1967	AL	Carl Yastrzemski	Red Sox	0.418	44	121
1969	NL	Willie McCovey	Giants	0.453	45	126
1969	AL	Harmon Killebrew	Twins	0.427	49	140
1972	AL	Dick Allen	White Sox	0.420	37	113
1981	NL	Mike Schmidt	Phillies	0.435	31	91
1993	NL	Barry Bonds	Giants	0.458	46	123

Other Professional Leagues

Minor League Triple Crowns

Season	League	Player	Team	AVG	HR	RBI
1900	Virginia League	Jim Murray	Portsmouth Boers	0.337	11	98
1907	Virginia League	Jacob Henn	Danville Red Sox	0.284	8	69
1908	Virginia League	Jacob Henn	Danville Red Sox	0.290	8	72
1909	Virginia League	Charles Seitz	Norfolk Tars	0.328	5	78
1910	Virginia League	Joe Holland	Roanoke Tigers	0.291	3	73
1911	Union Association	Frank Huelsman	Great Falls Electrics	0.411	17	125
1913	Union Association	Frank Huelsman	Salt Lake City Skyscrapers	0.422	22	126
1918	Virginia League	Curt Daughton	Newport News Shipbuilders	0.328	3	46
1920	Michigan-Ontario League	Henry Wetzel	Flint Halligans	0.387	12	72
1923	Pacific Coast League	Paul Strand	Salt Lake City Bees	0.394	43	187
1923	Piedmont League	Carr Smith	Raleigh Capitals	0.418	24	137
1923	Virginia League	Hack Wilson	Portsmouth Truckers	0.388	19	101
1924	Western Association	Wilbur Davis	Okmulgee Drillers	0.400	51	190
1925	New York-Penn League	Joe Munson	Harrisburg Senators	0.400	33	129
1926	East Texas League	Moose Clabaugh	Tyler Trojans	0.376	62	164
1927	Texas League	Del Pratt	Waco Cubs	0.386	32	140
1928	Eastern Carolina League	Frank Roscoe	Wilmington Pirates	0.387	36	101
1928	International League	Dale Alexander	Toronto Maple Leafs	0.380	31	144
1928	Pacific Coast League	Smead Jolley	San Francisco Seals	0.404	45	188
1928	Piedmont League	Danny Boone	High Point Pointers	0.419	38	131
1928	Three-I League	Ripper Collins	Danville Veterans	0.388	19	101
1929	American Association	Dusty Cooke	St. Paul Saints	0.358	33	148
1929	Middle Atlantic League	Fred Lucas	Charleroi Governors	0.407	21	113
1929	Pacific Coast League	Ike Boone	Mission Reds	0.407	55	218
1930	Central League	Pat Wright	Fort Wayne Chiefs	0.419	52	169
1930	Southeastern League	Rip Radcliff	Selma Cloverleafs	0.369	15	116
1931	Eastern League	Bruce Caldwell	New Haven Bulldogs	0.356	38	130
1931	Piedmont League	Frank Packard	Charlotte Hornets	0.366	21	123
1931	Western League	Stan Keyes	Des Moines Demons	0.369	38	160
1932	Middle Atlantic League	Fred Sington	Beckley Black Knights	0.368	29	110
1934	Pacific Coast League	Frank Demaree	Los Angeles Angels	0.383	45	173
1934	Piedmont League	Jim Bryan	Norfolk Tars	0.376	30	144
1935	International League	George Puccinelli	Baltimore Orioles	0.359	53	172
1935	Three-I League	Chet Laabs	Fort Wayne Chiefs	0.384	24	96
1936	American Association	Tom Winsett	Columbus Red Birds	0.354	50	154
1936	Evangeline League	Dynamite Dunn	Alexandria Aces	0.378	47	185
1936	Florida State League	George Andrews	Palatka/St.Augustine	0.350	10	78
1936	Northern League	Cal Lahman	Jamestown Jimmies	0.391	48	162
1937	Canadian-American League	Maurice Van Robays	Ogdensburg Colts	0.368	43	150
1937	Coastal Plain League	Alfred Joyner	Ayden Aces	0.380	24	97
1937	Georgia-Florida League	Tom Corbett	Thomasville Orioles	0.350	26	113
1937	West Texas-New Mexico League	Robert Hood	Wink Spudders	0.372	30	145
1937	Western International League	Wes Schulmerich	Lewiston Broncs	0.367	28	117
1938	American Association	Ted Williams	Minneapolis Millers	0.366	43	142
1938	Northern League	Melvin Wasley	Duluth Dukes	0.357	31	115
1938	Piedmont League	Roberto Estalella	Charlotte Hornets	0.378	38	123
1939	Interstate League	David Kelly	Sunbury Senators	0.404	14	86
1939	Northern League	Robert Schmidt	Duluth Dukes	0.441	31	133
1939	Tar Heel League	Hooper Triplett	Gastonia Cardinals	0.391	27	115
1939	West Texas-New Mexico League	Gordon Nell	Pampa Plainsmen	0.392	44	189
1940	American Association	Ab Wright	Minneapolis Millers	0.369	39	159
1940	Florida East Coast League	Jack Westley	Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood	0.377	11	98
1940	Mexican League	Cool Papa Bell	Torreon/Veracruz
1940	Pacific Coast League	Lou Novikoff	Los Angeles Angels	0.363	41	171
1940	Wisconsin State League	Rudy Novak	Green Bay Blue Jays	0.368	20	94
1941	Northern League	Larry Bettencourt	Grand Forks Chiefs	0.366	31	133
1941	PONY League	John Newman	Jamestown Falcons	0.358	29	96
1941	Three-I League	Hank Edwards	Cedar Rapids Raiders	0.364	23	113
1942	Piedmont League	Luis Olmo	Richmond Colts	0.337	10	92
1942	South Atlantic League	Vic Bradford	Jacksonville Tars	0.342	13	107
1943	Mexican League	Bill Wright	Mexico City Diablos Rojos	0.366	13	70
1946	Border League	Bob Dill	Ogdensburg/Auburn	0.397	20	118
1947	Lone Star League	John Stone	Henderson Oilers	0.396	32	185
1948	Canadian-American League	Gene Hasson	Pittsfield Electrics	0.368	27	106
1948	Evangeline League	Tex Sanner	Houma Indians	0.386	34	126
1948	Far West League	Ray Perry	Redding Browns	0.411	36	163
1948	Ohio-Indiana League	Bob Nieman	Muncie Packers	0.367	23	131
1948	Pioneer League	Albert Neil	Pocatello Cardinals	0.390	25	151
1948	South Atlantic League	Harold Summers	Augusta Tigers	0.331	28	115
1949	Piedmont League	Charlie Maxwell	Roanoke Red Sox	0.345	29	112
1949	Southeastern League	Harold Summers	Meridian Millers	0.344	19	95
1950	Canadian-American League	Garland Lawing	Quebec Braves	0.346	19	141
1950	Georgia-Alabama League	Eugene Solt	Carrollton Hornets	0.365	38	151
1950	Longhorn League	Tom Jordan	Roswell Rockets	0.391	44	180
1950	Provincial League	Silvio Garcia	Sherbrooke Athletics	0.365	21	116
1950	Southeastern League	Nesbit Wilson	Pensacola Fliers	0.355	35	163
1951	Appalachian League	Muscle Shoals	Kingsport Cherokees	0.383	30	129
1951	Carolina League	Ray Jablonski	Winston-Salem Cardinals	0.363	28	127
1951	Mexican League	Angel Castro	Veracruz Azules	0.354	22	79
1951	North Carolina State League	Pud Miller	Hickory Rebels	0.425	40	136
1951	Wisconsin State League	Dave Garcia	Oshkosh Giants	0.369	23	127
1952	Mexican League	Rene Gonzalez	Veracruz Azules	0.370	21	84
1952	Piedmont League	Ken Guettler	Portsmouth Cubs	0.334	28	104
1952	Provincial League	Al Pinkston	St. Hyacinthe A's	0.360	30	121
1952	Southwest International League	Pete Hughes	Tijuana Colts	0.366	28	131
1953	Big State League	Albert Neil	Wichita Falls Spudders	0.356	39	137
1953	Wisconsin State League	Joe Tuminelli	Fond du Lac Panthers	0.390	28	148
1954	Big State League	Dean Stafford	Galveston/Corpus Christi	0.362	38	171
1954	Longhorn League	Joe Bauman	Roswell Rockets	0.400	72	224
1954	Southern Association	Bob Lennon	Nashville Vols	0.345	64	161
1955	International League	Rocky Nelson	Montreal Royals	0.364	37	130
1956	Mexican League	Alonso Perry	Mexico City Diablos Rojos	0.392	28	118
1956	Northern League	Orlando Cepeda	St. Cloud Rox	0.355	26	112
1956	Pacific Coast League	Steve Bilko	Los Angeles Angels	0.360	55	164
1957	Arizona-Mexico League	Claudio Solano	Cananea Mineros	0.402	41	159
1958	Alabama-Florida League	Nesbit Wilson	Ft. Walton Beach/Pensacola	0.396	24	106
1958	International League	Rocky Nelson	Toronto Maple Leafs	0.326	43	120
1959	International League	Pancho Herrera	Buffalo Bisons	0.329	37	128
1959	Southern Association	Gordy Coleman	Mobile Bears	0.353	30	110
1960	American Association	Larry Osborne	Denver Bears	0.342	34	119
1961	Mexican Center League	Jorge Calvo	Guanajuato Tuzos	0.368	29	130
1962	Mexican Center League	Ramiro Caballero	Guanajuato Tuzos	0.414	59	170
1962	Pioneer League	Harold Allen	Magic Valley Cowboys	0.346	37	140
1963	California League	Jose Vidal	Reno Silver Sox	0.340	40	162
1963	Eastern League	Bob Chance	Charleston Indians	0.343	26	114
1963	Northern League	Jim Rouse	Aberdeen Pheasants	0.332	27	80
1964	Mexican Center League	Ramiro Caballero	Leon Broncos	0.380	35	145
1964	Northern League	Andy Kosco	Duluth/Bismark-Mandan	0.346	28	97
1965	Eastern League	George Scott	Pittsfield Red Sox	0.319	25	94
1966	Mexican Center League	Heriberto Vargas	Guanajuato Tuzos	0.445	55	174
1969	Mexican Northern League	Romulo Munoz	Ensenada Tigres	0.359	23	71
1972	Gulf Coast League	Cleo Kirkpatrick	GCL White Sox	0.329	5	38
1972	New York-Penn League	Cannon Smith	Jamestown Falcons	0.319	14	56
1972	Southern League	Mike Reinbach	Asheville Orioles	0.346	30	109
1973	Appalachian League	John Shupe	Johnson City Yankees	0.350	13	54
1974	International League	Jim Rice	Pawtucket Red Sox	0.337	25	93
1974	Mexican Center League	Jose Valenzuela	Alacranes de Durango	0.384	12	79
1974	Midwest League	Moe Hill	Wisconsin Rapids Twins	0.339	32	113
1976	Appalachian League	Mark Corey	Bluefield Orioles	0.400	17	59
1976	Eastern League	Danny Thomas	Berkshire Brewers	0.325	29	83
1976	Pioneer League	John Scoras	Lethbridge Expos	0.370	13	63
1976	Western Carolinas League	Pat Putnam	Asheville Tourists	0.361	24	142
1977	Western Carolinas League	David Rivera	Asheville Tourists	0.346	26	118
1978	Mexican Center League	Angel Ortega	Fresnillo Mineros	0.408	12	54
1981	Pacific Coast League	Mike Marshall	Albuquerque Dukes	0.373	34	137
1983	Appalachian League	Glenn Braggs	Paintsville Brewers	0.390	16	74
1984	Gulf Coast League	Drew Denson	GCL Braves	0.322	10	45
1984	Midwest League	Joey Meyer	Beloit Brewers	0.320	30	102
1989	Arizona League	Leon Glenn	AZL Brewers	0.379	7	50
1989	California League	Ruben Gonzalez	San Bernardino Spirit	0.308	27	101
1989	Northwest League	Dave Staton	Spokane Indians	0.362	17	72
1994	Great Central League	Tim Jordan	Lafayette Leopards	0.353	11	48
1994	North Central League	Jason Felice	Regina Cyclones	0.343	17	73
1995	Mexican League	Ty Gainey	Mexico City Diablos Rojos	0.411	27	115
1997	Pioneer League	Greg Morrison	Medicine Hat Blue Jays	0.448	23	88
1998	Frontier League	Morgan Burkhart	Richmond Roosters	0.404	36	98
1998	Pioneer League	Jay Gibbons	Medicine Hat Blue Jays	0.397	19	98
1999	Texas League	Adam Piatt	Midland RockHounds	0.345	39	135
2000	Northern League	Anthony Lewis	Duluth-Superior Dukes	0.365	33	89
2002	Atlantic League	Jimmy Hurst	Newark Bears	0.341	35	100
2003	Canadian League	Galindo Gomez	Calgary Outlaws	0.403	11	42
2003	New York-Penn League	Vito Chiaravolloti	Auburn Doubledays	0.351	12	67
2005	Carolina League	Leo Daigle	Winston-Salem Warthogs	0.341	29	112
2008	Eastern League	Lou Montanez	Bowie Baysox	0.335	26	97
2008	Mexican League	Kit Pellow	Saltillo Saraperos	0.385	34	107
2010	Texas League	Clint Robinson	Northwest Arkansas Naturals	0.335	29	98

Nippon Professional Baseball

Sadaharu Oh

Season	League	Player	Team	AVG	HR	RBI
1938 Fall	JPBL	Haruyasu Nakajima	Tokyo Giants	0.361	10	38
1965	PL	Katsuya Nomura	Nankai Hawks	0.320	42	110
1973	CL	Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants	0.355	51	114
1974	CL	Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants	0.332	49	107
1982	PL	Hiromitsu Ochiai	Lotte Orions	0.325	32	99
1984	PL	Boomer Wells	Hankyu Braves	0.355	37	130
1985	PL	Hiromitsu Ochiai	Lotte Orions	0.367	52	146
1985	CL	Randy Bass	Hanshin Tigers	0.350	54	134
1986	PL	Hiromitsu Ochiai	Lotte Orions	0.360	50	116
1986	CL	Randy Bass	Hanshin Tigers	0.389	47	109
2004	PL	Nobuhiko Matsunaka	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks	0.358	44	120
2022	CL	Munetaka Murakami	Yakult Swallows	0.318	56	134

Korea Baseball Organization

Season	Player	Team	AVG	HR	RBI
1984	Man-soo Lee	Samsung Lions	0.340	23	80
2006	Dae-ho Lee	Lotte Giants	0.336	26	88
2010	Dae-ho Lee	Lotte Giants	0.364	44	133

Chinese Professional Baseball League

Season	Player	Team	AVG	HR	RBI
1998	Jay Kirkpatrick	Sinon Bulls	0.387	31	101
2017	Po-Jung Wang	Lamigo Monkeys	0.407	31	101
2022	Li Lin	Lamigo Monkeys	0.335	14	83

Serie A1

Season	Player	Team	AVG	HR	RBI
1962	Roberto Gandini	Milano	0.375	12	40
1974	Giorgio Castelli	Parma	0.515	26	78
1987	Roberto Bianchi	Bologna	0.474	27	72
1991	Roberto Bianchi	Milano	0.460	16	55
2010	Carlos Duran	T&A San Marino	0.349	6	49
2020	Federico Celli	T&A San Marino	0.473	10	36

Pitching Triple Crown Winners

The Pitching Triple Crown is more common than a hitter's Triple Crown having been accomplished in the Major Leagues 37 times versus 16 by batters. This is in part because there are fewer players in the running for each title every year.

2011 marked the first time since 1924 that pitchers acomplished the feat in both leagues in the same year. Justin Verlander did it in the American League and Clayton Kershaw in the National League. Grover Alexander accomplished the feat four times including three seasons (1915-1917) in a row. The only other pitchers besides Alexander, to perform the feat three times are Sandy Koufax and Walter Johnson.

In the NPB, 21 pitchers have accomplished the feat with only Kazuhisa Inao and Yoshinobu Yamamoto achieving it twice.

Major League Baseball

Grover Cleveland Alexander

Season	League	Player	Team	ERA	Wins	Strikeouts
1877	NL	Tommy Bond	Boston Red Caps	2.11	40	170
1884	NL	Old Hoss Radbourn	Providence Grays	1.38	59	441
1888	NL	Tim Keefe	New York Giants	1.74	35	335
1889	NL	John Clarkson	Boston Beaneaters	2.73	49	284
1894	NL	Amos Rusie	New York Giants	2.78	36	195
1901	AL	Cy Young	Boston Americans	1.62	33	158
1905	NL	Christy Mathewson	New York Giants	1.28	31	206
1905	AL	Rube Waddell	Philadelphia Athletics	1.48	27	287
1908	NL	Christy Mathewson	New York Giants	1.43	37	259
1913	AL	Walter Johnson	Washington Senators	1.14	36	243
1915	NL	Grover Alexander	Philadelphia Phillies	1.22	31	241
1916	NL	Grover Alexander	Philadelphia Phillies	1.55	33	167
1917	NL	Grover Alexander	Philadelphia Phillies	1.83	30	200
1918	NL	Hippo Vaughn	Chicago Cubs	1.74	22	148
1918	AL	Walter Johnson	Washington Senators	1.27	23	162
1920	NL	Grover Alexander	Chicago Cubs	1.91	27	173
1924	NL	Dazzy Vance	Brooklyn Robins	2.16	28	262
1924	AL	Walter Johnson	Washington Senators	2.72	23	158
1930	AL	Lefty Grove	Philadelphia Athletics	2.54	28	209
1931	AL	Lefty Grove	Philadelphia Athletics	2.06	31	175
1934	AL	Lefty Gomez	New York Yankees	2.33	26	158
1934	NNL	Slim Jones	Philadelphia Stars	1.24	20	164
1937	AL	Lefty Gomez	New York Yankees	2.33	21	194
1938	NNL	Ray Brown	Homestead Grays	1.88	14	70
1939	NL	Bucky Walters	Cincinnati Reds	2.29	27	137
1940	AL	Bob Feller	Cleveland Indians	2.61	27	261
1943	NNL	John Wright	Homestead Grays	2.54	18	94
1944	NAL	Satchel Paige	Kansas City Monarchs	0.72	3	85
1945	AL	Hal Newhouser	Detroit Tigers	1.81	25	212
1963	NL	Sandy Koufax	Los Angeles Dodgers	1.88	25	306
1965	NL	Sandy Koufax	Los Angeles Dodgers	2.04	26	382
1966	NL	Sandy Koufax	Los Angeles Dodgers	1.73	27	317
1972	NL	Steve Carlton	Philadelphia Phillies	1.97	27	310
1985	NL	Dwight Gooden	New York Mets	1.53	24	268
1997	AL	Roger Clemens	Toronto Blue Jays	2.05	21	292
1998	AL	Roger Clemens	Toronto Blue Jays	2.65	20	271
1999	AL	Pedro Martinez	Boston Red Sox	2.07	23	313
2002	NL	Randy Johnson	Arizona Diamondbacks	2.32	24	334
2006	AL	Johan Santana	Minnesota Twins	2.77	19	245
2007	NL	Jake Peavy	San Diego Padres	2.54	19	240
2011	NL	Clayton Kershaw	Los Angeles Dodgers	2.28	21	248
2011	AL	Justin Verlander	Detroit Tigers	2.40	24	250
2020	AL	Shane Bieber	Cleveland Indians	1.63	8	122

Minor Leagues

Season	League	Player	Team	W	ERA	SO
1880	California League	Jim Whitney	San Francisco Knickerbockers	23	1.11	150
1886	International Association	Billy Serad	Utica Pent-Ups	30	1.02	260
1895	New England Association	Henry Lampe	Lawrence	16	1.61	122
1896	Naugatuck Valley League	Dick Mansfield	Bridgeport Victors	15	1.95	127
1906	Three-I League	Harry Swalm	Dubuque Dubs	23	1.81	247
1907	Eastern Illinois League	Grover Lowdermilk	Mattoon Giants	33	0.93	458
1914	Virginia League	Cliff Markle	Norfolk Tars	31	2.53	265
1917	American Association	Grover Lowdermilk	Columbus Senators	25	1.70	250
1917	Pacific Coast League	Eric Erickson	San Francisco Seals	31	1.93	307
1922	Pacific Coast League	Jakie May	Vernon Tigers	35	1.84	238
1927	Three-I League	Ralph Judd	Peoria Tractors	21	2.01	121
1931	Pacific Coast League	Sam Gibson	San Francisco Seals	28	2.48	204
1932	Central League (US)	Marvin Duke	Erie Sailors	23	2.36	176
1933	American Association	Paul Dean	Columbus Red Birds	22	3.15	222
1937	Pennsylvania State Association	Darrel Hawley	Greensburg Green Sox	16	2.72	161
1938	Alabama-Florida League	Virgil Trucks	Andalusia Bulldogs	25	1.25	418
1938	American Association	Whitlow Wyatt	Milwaukee Brewers	23	2.37	208
1938	Arkansas-Missouri League	Bill Gill	Neosho Yankees	20	2.80	266
1938	Mexican League	Martin Dihigo	Veracruz Aguila	18	0.90	184
1938	Southern Association	Tom Sunkel	Atlanta Crackers	21	2.33	178
1939	Arkansas-Missouri League	George Bender	Fayetteville Angels	20	2.35	208
1939	Cape Breton Colliery League	Bernie Pearlman	Sydney Steel Citians	11	1.62	105
1939	Eastern Shore League	Les Hinckle	Federalsburg A's	27	2.49	309
1939	Florida State League	Sid Hudson	Sanford Lookouts	24	1.79	192
1940	Wisconsin State League	Merv Henley	LaCrosse Blackhawks	20	1.81	148
1941	Eastern League	Red Embree	Wilkes-Barre Barons	21	1.69	213
1941	Interstate League	Anderson Bush	Hagerstown Owls	20	1.61	171
1941	Middle Atlantic League	Lou Lucier	Canton Terriers	23	1.51	199
1941	Pacific Coast League	Yank Terry	San Diego Padres	26	2.31	172
1941	Pennsylvania State Association	Joe Smolko	Johnstown Johnnies	20	3.08	220
1941	Western Association	Blix Donnelly	Springfield Cardinals	28	2.26	304
1942	Bi-State League	Charlie Cuellar	Leaksville-Draper-Spray Triplets	22	1.67	204
1942	Pacific Coast League	Dick Barrett	Seattle Rainiers	27	1.72	178
1942	Southeastern League	James McClure	Jackson Senators	20	2.03	152
1942	West Texas-New Mexico League	Kenneth Wyatt	Clovis Pioneers	17	2.09	129
1943	Eastern League	Chet Covington	Scranton Red Sox	21	1.51	187
1944	Ohio State League	Ned Garver	Newark Moundsmen	21	1.21	221
1945	North Carolina State League	Forrest Thompson	Mooresville Braves	24	2.13	278
1945	Ohio State League	Raymond Janikowski	Middletown Rockets	25	1.71	274
1946	Coastal Plain League	Bill Kennedy	Rocky Mount Rocks	28	1.03	456
1946	Florida International League	Chet Covington	Tampa Smokers	28	1.66	260
1946	K-O-M League	Ross Grimsley	Chanute Athletics	18	1.93	295
1946	New England League	Walker Cress	Lynn Red Sox	19	1.98	174
1946	Northern League	Bob Haas	Fargo-Moorhead Twins	19	2.20	193
1946	South Atlantic League	Richard Starr	Augusta Tigers	19	2.07	233
1947	Alabama State League	Max Peterson	Greenville Lions	27	2.02	266
1947	Border League	Frank Fanovich	Watertown Athletics	16	2.41	182
1947	Eastern Shore League	Chris Van Cuyk	Cambridge Dodgers	25	1.94	279
1947	Evangeline League	Paul Bruno	Hammond Berries	25	1.96	260
1947	Florida International League	Connie Marrero	Havana Cubans	25	1.66	251
1947	Interstate League	Andy Tomasic	Trenton Giants	18	2.48	278
1947	South Atlantic League	Lou Brissie	Savannah Indians	23	1.91	278
1948	North Atlantic League	Frank Radler	Stroudsburg Poconos	20	2.18	201
1949	Mountain States League	Frank Wilson	Harlan Smokies	27	2.77	176
1949	Virginia League	Arnold Atkins	Franklin Kildees	21	2.70	204
1950	American Association	Harvey Haddix	Columbus Red Birds	18	2.70	160
1950	Appalachian League	Doug Clark	Elizabethton Betsy Cubs	27	2.41	228
1950	Arizona-Texas League	Jesús Valenzuela	Ciudad Juarez Indios	25	3.47	256
1950	Colonial League	Emil Moscowitz	Poughkeepsie Chiefs	12	1.51	102
1950	Georgia State League	Charles Smalley	Dublin Green Sox	23	2.46	237
1950	Georgia-Alabama League	Don Bessent	LaGrange Troupers	22	2.23	229
1950	Kitty League	Don McMahon	Owensboro Oilers	20	2.72	143
1950	Sunset League	Manuel Echeverria	Mexicali Eagles	28	2.74	333
1951	Mississippi-Ohio Valley League	Lee Tunnison	Centralia Zeros	20	3.12	170
1951	Virginia League	John Brockwell	Colonial Heights-Petersburg Generals	25	2.05	164
1952	Alabama-Florida League	Russell Harris	Ozark Eagles	27	2.83	243
1952	Sooner State League	Charles Seymour	McAlester Rockets	25	1.91	292
1953	Alabama-Florida League	Spencer Davis	Dothan Rebels	22	1.21	196
1953	American Association	Gene Conley	Toledo Mud Hens	23	2.90	211
1953	Cotton States League	Bob Harrison	Meridian Millers	19	2.15	172
1953	Northern League	Ray Seif	Fargo-Moorhead Twins	20	2.52	163
1954	Alabama-Florida League	Spencer Davis	Dothan Rebels	23	2.83	196
1954	American Association	Herb Score	Indianapolis Indians	22	2.62	330
1954	South Atlantic League	Humberto Robinson	Jacksonville Braves	23	2.41	243
1955	Mexican League	Fred Waters	Mexico City Tigres	18	2.09	126
1955	South Atlantic League	Charlie Rabe	Columbia Reds	21	2.01	219
1956	Florida State League	Julio Navarro	Cocoa Indians	24	2.16	216
1956	Mexican League	Francisco Ramirez	Mexico City Diablos Rojos	20	2.25	148
1957	Alabama-Florida League	Bill Kakuske	Graceville Oilers	19	2.26	205
1958	Northwest League	Thornton Kipper	Lewiston Broncs	23	2.71	193
1959	Eastern League	Juan Marichal	Springfield Giants	18	2.39	208
1960	International League	Al Cicotte	Toronto Maple Leafs	16	1.79	158
1961	Carolina League	Bill MacLeod	Winston-Salem Red Sox	15	2.31	208
1961	Eastern League	Gerry Thomas	Springfield Giants	20	2.40	214
1961	Northwest League	Larry Danforth	Lewiston Broncs	20	2.41	180
1964	Appalachian League	Frank De Vivo	Johnson City Yankees	11	2.83	123
1965	Mexican Center League	Raul Gomez	San Luis Potosi Rojos	20	2.63	234
1967	Appalachian League	Jesse Hudson	Marion Mets	7	2.07	84
1967	Midwest League	Bob DeLong	Decatur Commodores	15	1.97	191
1967	Northwest League	Wayne Swango	Eugene Emeralds	12	0.88	133
1968	Mexican League	Jim Horsford	Reynosa Broncos	20	1.59	212
1968	Mexican Rookie League	Ramon Reynoso	Caborca Tigres	16	1.24	163
1969	Mexican Southeast League	Julio Imbert	Yucatan Venados	22	1.68	170
1970	California League	Albert Dawson	Bakersfield Dodgers	17	2.47	244
1970	Gulf Coast League	Harold McClain	GCL White Sox	10	1.27	108
1970	Mexican Southeast League	Leonardo Ferguson	Campeche Pirates	13	1.82	128
1970	Pioneer League	Dick Lange	Idaho Falls Angels	13	1.95	151
1973	Carolina League	Roy Thomas	Rocky Mount Phillies	15	2.24	193
1973	Mexican Center League	Rodolfo Vallejano	Ciudad Mante Azucareros	11	1.71	139
1975	Northwest League	Paul Moskau	Eugene Emeralds	10	1.50	92
1976	International League	Dennis Martinez	Rochester Red Wings	14	2.50	140
1977	Northwest League	Greg Biercevicz	Bellingham Mariners	11	0.90	97
1977	Pioneer League	Scott Budner	Great Falls Giants	9	3.36	121
1979	Appalachian League	Pete Filson	Paintsville Yankees	9	1.68	118
1979	Pioneer League	Rick Rodas	Lethbridge Dodgers	12	1.12	148
1980	Eastern League	Mark Davis	Reading Phillies	19	2.47	185
1982	Southern League	Stefan Wever	Nashville Sounds	16	2.78	191
1983	Texas League	Sid Fernandez	San Antonio Dodgers	13	2.82	209
1983	Pioneer League	Hubert Kemp	Billings Mustangs	9	2.21	138
1983	Carolina League	Dwight Gooden	Lynchburg Mets	19	2.50	300
1986	Texas League	George Ferran	Shreveport Captains	16	2.29	147
1991	California League	Rich Huisman	San Jose Giants	16	1.83	216
1991	Midwest League	Salomon Torres	Clinton Giants	16	1.41	214
1991	Northwest League	Julian Heredia	Boise Hawks	8	1.05	99
1991	Arizona League	George Glinatsis	AZL Mariners	10	2.19	80
1993	Arizona League	Jason Myers	AZL Giants	8	1.69	105
1993	Midwest League	LaTroy Hawkins	Fort Wayne Wizards	15	2.06	179
1994	Southern League	Blaine Beatty	Chattanooga Lookouts	14	2.38	162
1995	Pacific Coast League	Donne Wall	Tucson Toros	17	3.30	119
1995	Golden State League	Carlos Carrasco	Yuma Desert Dawgs	3	0.72	26
1995	North Atlantic League	Germaine Hunter	Newark Barge Bandits	8	1.08	117
1996	California League	Darin Blood	San Jose Giants	17	2.65	193
1996	Florida State League	Blake Stein	St. Petersburg Cardinals	16	2.15	159
1996	Pioneer League	Vladimir Nunez	Lethbridge Black Diamonds	10	2.22	93
1997	Big South League	Matt Miller	Greenville Bluesmen	12	2.26	129
1998	Arizona League	Jermaine Van Buren	AZL Rockies	7	2.22	92
1999	Arizona League	Jake Peavy	AZL Padres	7	1.34	90
1999	Northern League East	Michel Laplante	Québec Capitales	11	2.06	143
2000	Pioneer League	Ricardo Rodriguez	Great Falls Dodgers	10	1.88	129
2001	Mexican League	Ravelo Manzanillo	Yucatan Leones	16	1.52	202
2004	Mexican League	Francisco Campos	Campeche Pirates	12	1.47	99
2006	South Atlantic League	Matt Maloney	Lakewood BlueClaws	16	2.03	180
2008	South Atlantic League	Madison Bumgarner	Augusta GreenJackets	15	1.46	164
2009	Texas League	Samuel Deduno	Tulsa Drillers	12	2.57	123
2012	Gulf Coast League	Yorfrank Lopez	GCL Tigers	5	2.32	57
2012	Pacific Coast League	John Ely	Albuquerque Isotopes	14	3.20	165

Nippon Professional Baseball

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

Chinese Professional Baseball League

Season	Player	Team	ERA	Wins	Strikeouts
2002	Chao-Chi Sung	Chinatrust Whales	2.13	16	183
2006	En-Yu Lin	Macoto Cobras	1.73	17	209
2015	Mike Loree	EDA Rhinos	3.26	16	144
2017	Mike Loree	Fubon Guardians	2.18	16	154
2020	José De Paula	CTBC Brothers	3.20	16	192

Korea Baseball Organization

Season	Player	Team	ERA	Wins	Strikeouts
1986	Dong-yeol Sun	Haitai Tigers	0.99	24	214
1989	Dong-yeol Sun	Haitai Tigers	1.17	21	198
1990	Dong-yeol Sun	Haitai Tigers	1.13	22	189
1991	Dong-yeol Sun	Haitai Tigers	1.55	19	210
2006	Hyun-Jin Ryu	Hanwha Eagles	2.23	18	204
2011	Suk-min Yoon	KIA Tigers	2.45	17	178
2023	Erick Fedde	NC Dinos	2.30	20	209

Taiwan Major League

Season	Player	Team	ERA	Wins	Strikeouts
1999	Hisanobu Watanabe	Chianan Luka	2.34	18	201

Career Triple Crown

There have been 9 players since 1901 to have won all 3 Triple Crown Categories at different times in their career without ever winning a Triple Crown. Miguel Cabrera was in this group until he won the Triple Crown in 2012. Heinie Zimmerman was also in this category until Herm Krabbenhoft's research demonstrated that he had legitimately won a Triple Crown in 1912.

Player	Batting Title	Home Runs Title	RBI Title
Babe Ruth	(1) 1924	(12) 1918-21,1923-24,1926-31	(6) 1919-21,1923,1926,1928
Johnny Mize	(1) 1939	(3) 1940,1947-48	(3) 1940,1942,1947
Joe DiMaggio	(2) 1940-41	(2) 1937,1948	(2) 1941,1948
Hank Aaron	(2) 1956,1959	(4) 1957,1963,1966-67	(4) 1957,1960,1963,1966
Andres Galarraga	(1) 1993	(1) 1996	(2) 1996-97
Barry Bonds	(2) 2002,2004	(2) 1993,2001	(1) 1993
Alex Rodriguez	(1) 1996	(4) 2001-02,2005,2007	(2) 2002,2007
Manny Ramirez	(1) 2002	(1) 2004	(1) 1999
Albert Pujols	(1) 2003	(2) 2009-10	(1) 2010

Further Reading

• Andy Andres: "Can Stephen Jay Gould's theory explain why there has not been any batting Triple Crowns in Major League Baseball for the last 39 years?", in Bill Nowlin and Dan Desrochers, eds.: The 1967 Impossible Dream Red Sox: 'Pandemonium on the Field', SABR, Rounder Books, Burlington, MA, 2007, pp. 141-142. ISBN 978-1-5794-0141-2
• John E. Daniels: "Where Have You Gone, Carl Yastrzemski ?: A Statistical Analysis of the Triple Crown", in The Baseball Research Journal, SABR, Volume 37, 2008, pp. 107-114
• Vince Gennaro: "The Most Dominant Triple Crown Winner", in The Baseball Research Journal, SABR, Number 31, 2003, pp. 86-87.
• Herm Krabbenhoft: "Seeking Resolution of the Discrepancy for the 1912 NL Triple Crown", The Baseball Research Journal, SABR, Vol. 44, Number 1 (Spring 2015), pp. 54-57.
• Michael Francis Mann: Baseball's Rare Triple Crown, Xlibris Corporation, Bloomington, IN, 2011. ISBN 1465352244
• Brian Murphy: "These stars might be MLB's next Triple Crown winner", mlb.com, January 10, 2024. [1]
• Frederick E. Taylor: "Whatever Happened to the Triple Crown ?", The Baseball Research Journal, SABR, Volume 41, Number 1 (Spring 2012), pp. 93-96.