tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8308814967611371361.post4251116076060167501..comments2009-08-18T13:35:17.902-05:00Comments on wezen-ball.com: Yaz and the Triple Crownlarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314820003835656973noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8308814967611371361.post-74830673079308322372009-05-29T16:03:53.708-05:002009-05-29T16:03:53.708-05:00There was Killebrew, of course, and Frank Howard, ...There was Killebrew, of course, and Frank Howard, but I don't feel like there were as many of them as there are now (Howard, Dunn, Pena, Davis, Sizemore, etc.). I could be completely wrong. <br /><br />Wright is a pretty good candidate. Or Longoria, I suppose (Longoria and Wright seem linked in my mind, which five years from now will probably sound silly one way or the other, like comparing Nomar to A-Rod and Jeter), though I don't know if he'll keep hitting for average like he has so far this year.Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07840958382433052735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8308814967611371361.post-67705900903011648312009-05-29T15:03:05.908-05:002009-05-29T15:03:05.908-05:00Not a bad call on Morneau there, guys. He does hav...Not a bad call on Morneau there, guys. He does have a lot of things working in his favor. The move to the new stadium next year might put a damper on things, though. Open-air in Minneapolis? That's gonna do something to the offense, right?<br /><br />And, Bill, don't be so quick to discount the free swingers from the 50s and 60s. As a Twins fan, you should know that, for every Rod Carew, there was 2 or 3 Harmon Killebrews, right?<br /><br />If I were to throw another non-Pujols name out there (he's the obvious candidate, of course), it would probably be... let me think here... David Wright, maybe? .300+ hitter, some power, good RBI opportunities. He'd have to cut down on his K's, though. Honestly, outside of Pujols, I have no clue who would do it.larhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17314820003835656973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8308814967611371361.post-70551106973437832002009-05-29T14:42:47.807-05:002009-05-29T14:42:47.807-05:00Here are all the players who finished in the top 1...Here are all the players who finished in the top 10 in the Triple Crown categories since Yaz in 1967:<br /><br />Year...Player..............HR...RBI...AVG<br />1995...Dante Bichette......1st..1st...3rd<br />1978...Jim Rice............1st..1st...3rd<br />1972...Dick Allen..........1st..1st...3rd<br />2007...Matt Holliday.......4th..1st...1st<br />1993...Barry Bonds.........1st..1st...4th<br />1977...George Foster.......1st..1st...4th<br />1969...Willie McCovey......1st..1st...5th<br />2000...Todd Helton.........7th..1st...1st<br />1995...Albert Belle........1st..1st...8th<br />1968...Willie McCovey......1st..1st...8th<br />2006...Ryan Howard.........1st..1st...9th<br />1989...Kevin Mitchell......1st..1st...9th<br />1988...Jose Canseco........1st..1st...9th<br /><br />A couple of other things: <br />* both Foster and Howard finished one spot higher in batting average among players with enough plate appearances. However, in each case, they were bumped down by someone who would have made the list if an appropriate number of hitless at-bats were added to their total (this is how BR does their rankings). Mike Schmidt, in 1986, and Reggie Jackson, in 1973, would each have finished 10th in batting average if not for this same rule.<br />* McCovey made this list two years in a row, immediately after Yaz's crown.<br />* As long as it's been since the NL's last Triple Crown (1937), this list is pretty NL heavy. 9 of the 13 names were all NLers at the time. Three of those were Colorado Rockies.larhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17314820003835656973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8308814967611371361.post-69615875209041377802009-05-29T10:30:38.504-05:002009-05-29T10:30:38.504-05:00Ibañez leads in HR and RBI and is 9th in BA. Morne...Ibañez leads in HR and RBI and is 9th in BA. Morneau is 3rd in HR and RBI and 6th in BA. Out of those two, Morneau probably has the better shot for this season. But I still think Pujols is the best choice. For young players, Justin Upton. Out of the prospects, Jason Heyward and Matt Wieters. I wouldn't include catchers, usually, but in the AL, he can DH.tHeMARksMiThhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16445834941960575715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8308814967611371361.post-40564541381374084952009-05-29T08:46:12.254-05:002009-05-29T08:46:12.254-05:00Hey, thanks for the shout-out, lar.
I think the b...Hey, thanks for the shout-out, lar. <br />I think the bigget culprit is the all-or-nothing power hitters. A guy like Pujols, who doesn't strike out, ever, can post a high BA and rack up a lot of RBI that way, <I>and</I> hit quite a few HR...but it's hard to hit as <I>many</I> HR as a big strong guy who doesn't care if he strikes out (and thus doesn't care what his batting average is), but will just swing as hard as he can at everything. There seem to be a lot more of those now than there were in the sixties. Especially in the NL, sadly.<br /><br />Not that it couldn't happen, though. I'd love to see it. I'd give Pujols and Morneau the best shots (Morneau has shown that he <I>can</I> hit for a high average, doesn't strike out a ton, and has Span and Mauer getting on base for him to drive in), but I'd think the odds of any individual player ding it are pretty tiny.Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07840958382433052735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8308814967611371361.post-48745095327761598512009-05-29T08:44:59.049-05:002009-05-29T08:44:59.049-05:00Helton certainly had a great chance at the Crown i...Helton certainly had a great chance at the Crown in 2000. First, as I mentioned above, he already led the league in AVG and RBI and also happened to hit 42 HRs, 8 off the pace. Not too shabby at all. More impressively, though, he also led the league in OBP and SLG. So, of the 3 slash stats, he led the league in all of them. It's a shame so many home runs were hit that year, because that really was a fantastic performance. (I think I'll have to look for other Slash Crowns).<br /><br />And, Ron, I wish I could tell you the answer to that. It is pretty remarkable.larhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17314820003835656973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8308814967611371361.post-60306130526941824842009-05-29T07:18:29.185-05:002009-05-29T07:18:29.185-05:00To add to the perspective of the drought, there we...To add to the perspective of the drought, there were Triple Crown winners in back-to-back years, then nothing for 42.<br /><br />What are the statistical odds of that? C'mon, you stat heads, you don't need a weekend. Lets get some numbers.Ron Rollinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16852012772573977515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8308814967611371361.post-85563356360195654872009-05-29T06:35:08.551-05:002009-05-29T06:35:08.551-05:00In his prime, I really thought Todd Helton had a g...In his prime, I really thought Todd Helton had a good shot to do it.Jorge Says No!https://www.blogger.com/profile/04358737179481087781noreply@blogger.com