MLB: Triple Crown, Anyone?

Major League Baseball has not had a Triple Crown winner in 40 years. 

That’s 40 seasons without a player leading his league in average, home runs, and runs batted in at the end of the season. 

Carl Yastrzemski was the last winner in 1967, after hitting .326, with 44 HR’s, and 121 RBI for the Boston Red Sox in the American League. 

In the National League the last winner was Joe Medwick in 1937, when he hit .374 with 31 HRs and 154 RBI. 

In the history of baseball a Triple Crown has been achieved only 15 times.  The list of winners is impressive and includes Hall of Famers like Lou Gehrig, Ty Cobb, Ted Williams, and Mickey Mantle. 

But why has this feat not been accomplished in the past four decades? 

There are a number of reasons.

First of all, modern baseball players are wired differently than in the past.  Gone are the days of players trying to make contact and move a runner from first to second base by hitting the ball to the right side.  Gone are the players choking up with two strikes and trying to punch the ball into play.   

Nowadays, players are more concerned with driving the ball out of the ballpark.  The pitching is watered down, the fences are close, baseballs are wound tighter, etc... 

The circumstances could not be more perfect, and let’s face it, home runs put people in the seats, translate into highlights on sports shows, and tend to lead to bigger contracts than the ordinary .300 singles hitter. 

It is very rare in today’s game to see a hitter develop great power and discipline at the plate simultaneously. 

Many hitters like Adam Dunn, Ryan Howard, and Andruw Jones have developed an “all or nothing” attitude at the plate, but who can blame them. 

In my opinion there are only three active players who have the potential to win a triple crown.  They are Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees, Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals, and Matt Holliday of the Colorado Rockies. 

The National League has the luxury of pitching around Albert Pujols due to a poor St. Louis Cardinals lineup.  Pujols has also fought nagging foot and elbow injuries. 

Over the next few years I believe Rodriguez and Holliday will have the best chance. 

Holliday, in only his second full season in 2007, led the National League in average with .340, and 137 RBI; Holliday also hit 36 HR’s. 

He is only 28 years old and still improving.  Holliday is in the middle of one of the most dangerous lineups in baseball, and pitchers cannot afford to pitch around him. 

He also plays his home games at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado, which is extremely conducive to hitting because of the thin air.

Rodriguez, on the other hand, also has a great chance.  He also put up great numbers in 2007 with a .314 average, 54 HR’s, and 156 RBI—he led the American League in HR and RBI. 

The third baseman is a career .306 hitter and has won a batting title in 1996 with a .358 average while he was a member of the Seattle Mariners. 

Rodriguez, like Holliday, is in the middle of one of the most dangerous lineups in all of baseball and A-Rod will see plenty of pitches to hit on a consistent basis. 

Will the Triple Crown ever be accomplished again?  The answer is yes. 

Will it be done anytime soon? 

That remains to be seen.