In baseball, a triple is a hit in which the batter advances to third base in one play, with neither the benefit of a fielding error nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice. [1] Triples were more common in baseball's dead-ball era, when teams relied more on stolen bases and hit and run plays than on the home run. [2] More distant fences in old ballparks, such as Pittsburgh's Forbes Field and Detroit's Tiger Stadium, also produced fewer home runs and more triples on well-hit balls. [3] As a result, most of the players on this list have been retired for decades. [4] Only two players in the top 50 all-time career triples leaders played after WWII (Stan Musial and Roberto Clemente), and there are no players in the top 50 who played after 1972.
In 2006, the Hardball Times lamented the decline of the 100-triple player, although three have joined the list since that time. [5] Fangraphs, a statistical website, likewise noted the lack of modern 100-triple hitters in 2013. [6] Of the 162 Major League Baseball players who have hit 100 or more triples, 69 are members of Baseball's Hall of Fame. [7]
Hall of Famer Sam Crawford of the Detroit Tigers holds the Major League Baseball triples record, with 309. [8] [9] Second to him is his Tigers teammate, [10] Ty Cobb, with 295, the American League record. [11] Honus Wagner is third with 252, the National League record. [12] Jake Beckley (243), Roger Connor (233), Tris Speaker (222), Fred Clarke (220), and Dan Brouthers (205) are the only other players to have hit at least 200 triples. Only triples hit during the regular season are included in the totals (George Brett, Rafael Furcal, and Derek Jeter are tied for the record in post-season triples, with five). [13]
Jim O'Rourke was the first player to reach the 100-triple mark, doing so with the New York Giants in 1886. [14] With Kenny Lofton's retirement after the 2007 season, 2008 was the first season since 1885 in which no active player had more than 100 triples. [14] Carl Crawford hit his 100th triple in 2010, becoming the only active player on the list at that time. José Reyes became the latest player to reach the 100 triple plateau, doing so on April 8, 2012.
When Reyes retired after the 2018 season, Major League Baseball once again had no active player with 100 career triples. The active career triples leader is Charlie Blackmon, who has 68 career triples as of 2024. He is tied for 416th on the all-time list. [9]
Triples | Total career triples |
---|---|
First MLB season | First year in which the player was active |
Last MLB season | Last year in which the player was active |
* | Denotes elected to National Baseball Hall of Fame. |
Bold | Denotes active player. [lower-alpha 1] |
The 3,000-hit club is the group of 33 batters who have collected 3,000 or more regular-season hits in their careers in Major League Baseball (MLB). Reaching 3,000 hits has been "long considered the greatest measure of superior bat handling" and is often described as a guarantee of eventual entry into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
In Major League Baseball (MLB), the 50 home run club is the group of batters who have hit 50 or more home runs in a single season. Babe Ruth was the first to achieve this, doing so in 1920. By reaching the milestone, he also became the first player to hit 30 and then 40 home runs in a single season, breaking his own record of 29 from the 1919 season. Ruth subsequently became the first player to reach the 50 home run club on four occasions, repeating the achievement in 1921, 1927, and 1928. He remained the only player to accomplish this until Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa matched his feat in 1999 and 2001, respectively. In doing so, they became the only players to have achieved 50 home runs in four consecutive seasons. Barry Bonds hit the most home runs to join the club, collecting 73 in 2001. The most recent player to hit 50 home runs in three seasons is Aaron Judge, who did so in 2024.
In Major League Baseball (MLB), the 20–20–20 club is the group of batters who have collected 20 doubles, 20 triples and 20 home runs in a single season. Frank Schulte was the first to achieve this, doing so in 1911. The last players to reach the milestone – Curtis Granderson and Jimmy Rollins – attained 20–20–20 during the 2007 season. This marked the first time that two players accomplished the achievement in the same season.
The Luis Aparicio Award is given annually to a Venezuelan player in Major League Baseball (MLB) who is judged to have recorded the best individual performance in that year. The winner of the award is determined by a vote conducted by Venezuelan sports journalists and Spanish-language media around the world. It is named after former MLB shortstop Luis Aparicio, who is the only player from Venezuela to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The award was first presented in 2004, and was created in order to honour Aparicio's major league career and to commemorate his father, who died thirteen years before his son was elected into the Hall of Fame.