A complete list of Triple Crown winners in baseball: All the details in the list

A complete list of Triple Crown winners in baseball: All the details in the list

Claudia Kogi
updated at February 13, 2024 at 11:54 AM

Unlike other sports such as basketball, soccer, or even rugby, leading MLB in batting average, home runs or RBIs is no mean feat. For starters, to achieve that consistency throughout 162 games, a ball player needs to be physically and mentally equipped. However, the question is, how many Triple Crown winners have been there in baseball?

A list of Triple Crown winners in baseball
Makoto Kadowaki of Japan fields a grounder during the Asia Professional Baseball Championships against Chinese Taipei on 16 November 2023 in Tokyo, Japan. Photo: Masterpress (Modified by author)
Source: Getty Images

Very few hitters in Major League Baseball history have won the Triple Crown. Therefore, it is clear that the Triple Crown is one of the rarest feats in all sports. In this article, you will learn more about the legendary baseball players who have bagged the Triple Crowns.

List of Triple Crown winners in baseball

Winning the Triple Crown in baseball is slightly more common than in horse racing, as 14 hitters and 28 pitchers have won it in either the American or National League since 1878. After an in-depth analysis, Sports Brief has compiled a list displaying the various baseball Triple Crown winners by year.

10. Frank Robinson: .316

What is a Triple Crown winner in baseball?
A portrait of Frank Robinson taken on 21 June 1966. Photo: Bettmann
Source: Getty Images
  • League: American League
  • Team: Baltimore Orioles
  • Year: 1966

In December 1965, the Reds traded player Robinson to the Orioles for three players. It was only a matter of time before Robinson hit .316 with 49 homers and 122 RBIs in his new club while also leading the American League with a .410 OBP, a .637 slugging and 122 runs.

Consequently, his efforts earned him an MVP Award for the second time after winning for Cincinnati in 1961. To date, he is regarded as the greatest baseball player in the sport's history.

9. Carl Yastrzemski: .326

baseball Triple Crown winners by year
Former left fielder, Carl Yastrzemski, throws out a ceremonial first pitch to his grandson before a game on 18 September 2019 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. Photo: Billie Weiss
Source: Getty Images
  • League: American League
  • Team: Boston Red Sox
  • Year: 1967

Before 1968, Carl Yastrzemski won the second of his three batting titles .326 while leading the league in homers 44 and RBIs 121 for the only time in his 23 seasons of playing. All three numbers were career highs for the Hall of Famer while earning the Gold Glove and AL MVP awards.

8. Miguel Cabrera: .330

List of pitching Triple Crown winners
Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers reacts after his last game ever and win against the Cleveland Guardians at Comerica Park on 1 October 2023 in Detroit, Michigan. Photo: Nic Antaya
Source: Getty Images
  • League: American League
  • Team: Detroit Tigers
  • Year: 2012

Miguel Cabrera captured baseball's first Triple Crown in 45 years by batting .330 with 44 homers and 139 RBIs. Splendid right? Even during the offense-filled 1990s and early 2000s, no player had managed to break what Cabrera did by leading the American League by four points in batting average with 11 RBIs and one homer. Aside from that, he is known for winning two consecutive AL MVP Awards.

7. Mickey Mantle: .353

  • Year: 1956
  • Team: New York Yankees
  • League(s): American League and MLB

Mickey Mantle took a batting average of .353 and 130 RBIs by pretty narrow margins but blew away the field in the home runs. Not surprisingly, Mantle bagged the first of back-to-back AL MVP Awards and the first of three for his career. Even at the seventh position, he is still regarded among the greatest MLB legends.

6. Ted Williams: .356

List of pitching Triple Crown winners
Baseball Hall of Famer, Ted Williams, holding his hand up in salute while sitting in an armchair at home on 10 December 1994. Photo: Thomas S England
Source: Getty Images
  • Year: 1942 and 1947
  • Team: Boston Red Sox
  • League(s): American League (1947) and MLB in (1942)

Williams is the only AL player, and one of two total, to take multiple Triple Crowns. In fact, it is alleged that he would have won more of them were it not for the Second World War. A year later, he became the last Major League player to bat at least .400, a 23-year-old Splendid Splinter hit .356 with 36 homers and 137 RBIs in 1942.

5. Lou Gehrig: .363

What is a Triple Crown winner in baseball?
Lou Gehrig (R) poses with his wife Mrs. Gehrig at Yankee Stadium before a game against Washington on 20 April 1937. Photo: Joseph Costa
Source: Getty Images
  • Year: 1934
  • Team: New York Yankees
  • League(s): American League and MLB

The 31-year-old Lou Gehrig won his only batting title at .363, and in addition to that, topped the AL with a .465 OBP and a .706 slugging.

Even at his death, Lou Gehrig is still remembered as the American-based professional baseball first baseman to play 17 seasons in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees from 1923 to 1939.

4. Jimmie Foxx: .364

  • Year: 1933
  • Team: Philadelphia Athletics
  • League: American League

Jimmie Foxx was one of two players to grab a Triple Crown, especially in the 1930s. As a result, he earned a second straight AL MVP Award, walloped 58 homers, drove in 169 runs the year before, and came up a batting title short despite a .364 mark.

Famously dubbed Double X and the Beast, at his death, Jimmie is still recalled as the American-based professional baseball first baseman who played 20 seasons in MLB for the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Athletics, and Philadelphia Phillies.

3. Chuck Klein: .368

What is a Triple Crown winner in baseball?
Chuck Klein of the Chicago Cubs warms up before a game at Wrigley Field on 1 January 1935. Photo: Mark Rucker
Source: Getty Images
  • Year: 1933
  • Team: Philadelphia Phillies
  • League: National League

Not only did baseball have two Triple Crown winners in 1933, but so did the city of Philadelphia. Chuck Klein batted a robust .368, and while his 28 homers and 120 RBIs were well short of Foxx's prodigious totals, they were good enough in the NL.

The late athlete led the National League in home runs four times, won the NL Most Valuable Player Award in 1932 and 1933, and became one of six (at that time) NL players to ever win the coveted batting Triple Crown.

2. Rogers Hornsby: .403 in 1925 and .402 in 1922

What is a Triple Crown winner in baseball?
Rogers Hornsby, star second baseman of the St Louis Cardinals is seen holding a bat on his shoulder on 21 May 1921. Photo: Bettmann
Source: Getty Images
  • Year: 1922 and 1925
  • Team: St Louis Cardinals
  • League: National League (1922) and MLB (1925)

Rogers Hornsby, the only NL player to take multiple Crowns, did so amid an incredible run in his club, St Louis. From 1920 to 1925, he led the league in average, OBP and slugging every year, batting at least .403 in 1925 and .402 in 1922.

Dubbed the Rajah, Rogers is still one of the best infielders, managers, and coaches in the history of Major League Baseball.

1. Oscar Charleston: .433

What is a Triple Crown winner in baseball?
Oscar Charleston posing in dugout at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on 1 May 1945. Photo: Charles Teenie Harris (Modified by author)
Source: Getty Images
  • Year: 1921
  • Team: Homestead Grays
  • League: NNL

To date, just four players have been crowned trifecta winner multiple times. Topping the list is baseball pioneer Oscar Charleston, who is known for winning three Triple Crowns in five years in the NNL.

Over his 43-year baseball career stint, Oscar Charleston played and managed with more than a dozen teams, including the Homestead Grays and the Pittsburgh Crawfords, which are known to be NNL's leading teams in the 1930s.

List of pitching Triple Crown winners

You will realise that the list of pitchers who have won a pitching Triple Crown is much longer than the list of hitters. Below is a list displaying some of the pitchers who have led their league in wins, strikeouts, and ERA

  • Shane Bieber - 2020 in AL
  • Justin Verlander - 2011 in AL
  • Clayton Kershaw - 2011 in NL
  • Jake Peavy - 2007 in NL
  • Johan Santana - 2006 in AL
  • Randy Johnson - 2002 in NL
  • Pedro Martinez - 1999 in AL
  • Roger Clemens - 1998 in AL
  • Roger Clemens - 1997 in AL
  • Dwight Gooden - 1985 in NL
  • Steve Carlton - 1972 in NL
  • Sandy Koufax - 1966 in NL
  • Sandy Koufax 1965 in NL
List of pitching Triple Crown winners
Shane Biebe of the Cleveland Guardians pitches against the Baltimore Orioles during the first inning at Progressive Field on 22 September 2023 in Cleveland, Ohio. Photo: Ron Schwane
Source: Getty Images

And while the list continues up to the first pitcher to ever bag the Triple Crown in 1877, the most recent winner is the Cleveland Indians' pitcher, Shane Bieber, who posted an 8-1 record with 122 strikeouts and 1.63 ERA during the COVID shortened 2020 season.

How many Triple Crown winners have been there in baseball?

As of 2023, twenty-seven players have won the Triple Crown, making it one of the rarest accomplishments in the sport's history. Of those 27 winners, just five have occurred in the post-integration era, 1947 to present. They include Ted Williams (1947), Mickey Mantle (1956), Frank Robinson (1966), Carl Yastrzemski (1967,) and Miguel Cabrera (2012).

What is a Triple Crown winner in baseball?

In baseball, the Triple Crown refers to the three statistical categories in hitting (batting average, home runs, and RBI) and three in pitching (wins, strikeouts, and ERA). So, a winner, in this case, is required to lead his league in all three categories to win the Triple Crown. Here are more frequently asked questions about the subject:

1. Who won the pitching Triple Crown in 2020?

The most recent winner is the Cleveland Indians' pitcher, Shane Bieber, who posted an 8-1 record with 122 strikeouts and 1.63 ERA during the COVID shortened 2020 season.

2. What is a Triple Crown in Major League Baseball?

In baseball, the Triple Crown refers to the three statistical categories in hitting (batting average, home runs, and RBI) and three in pitching (wins, strikeouts, and ERA).

3. Who has won the most Triple Crowns in MLB history?

Oscar Charleston has won three Triple Crowns in five years, with a batting record of .433.

4. How many Triple Crown winners have been there in baseball?

As of 2023, twenty-seven players have won the Triple Crown, making it one of the rarest accomplishments in the sport's history.

Final word

The Triple Crown is sometimes called an award, but it should actually be thought about more as an accomplishment than an acknowledgement. Besides, unlike other sports, this award does not require any voting, and in addition to that, it is not awarded yearly.

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Authors
Claudia Kogi photo
Claudia Kogi
Claudia Kogi is a Kenyan content creator with over 3 years of experience. Claudia joined Sportsbrief.com as a writer in January 2022, covering sports and relatable content.