MLB Triple Crown Winners (Hitting and Pitching)

The triple crown is not quite on the pedestal of Cal Ripken’s games played streak, but it is still a relatively rare award. Morseo for hitters than pitchers.

Before taking a look at who has won it, first let’s make sure everyone knows just what it is.

What is the MLB Triple Crown?

The batting triple crown is a hitting achievement that occurs when a player leads their respective league (American or National) in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in (RBI). Similarly, the pitching triple crown occurs when a player leads their respective league in wins, strikeouts, and earned run average (ERA).

Who has won the Batting Triple Crown?

16 different hitters have won the batting triple crown in 18 total seasons, which means two hitters have won the award twice: Roger Hornsby (1922 and 1925) and Ted Williams (1942 and 1947).

Green highlight indicates the highest average or most RBI/HR among all Triple Crown Winners.

Red highlight indicates the lowest average or least RBI/HR among all Triple Crown Winners.

Player Name Team Year Position League HR RBI AVG
Paul Hines Providence Grays 1878 Center fielder NL 4 50 0.358
Tip O’Neill St. Louis Browns 1887 Left fielder AA 14 123 0.435
Hugh Duffy Boston Beaneaters 1894 Outfielder NL 18 145 0.44
Nap Lajoie Philadelphia Athletics 1901 Second baseman AL 14 125 0.426
Ty Cobb Detroit Tigers 1909 Right fielder AL 9 107 0.377
Heinie Zimmerman Chicago Cubs 1912 Third baseman NL 14 104 0.372
Rogers Hornsby St. Louis Cardinals 1922 Second baseman NL 42 152 0.401
Rogers Hornsby St. Louis Cardinals 1925 Second baseman NL 39 143 0.403
Jimmie Foxx Philadelphia Athletics 1933 First baseman AL 48 163 0.356
Chuck Klein Philadelphia Phillies 1933 Right fielder NL 28 120 0.368
Lou Gehrig New York Yankees 1934 First baseman AL 49 165 0.363
Joe Medwick St. Louis Cardinals 1937 Left fielder NL 31 154 0.374
Ted Williams Boston Red Sox 1942 Left fielder AL 36 137 0.356
Ted Williams Boston Red Sox 1947 Left fielder AL 32 114 0.343
Mickey Mantle New York Yankees 1956 Center fielder AL 52 130 0.353
Frank Robinson Baltimore Orioles 1966 Right fielder AL 49 122 0.316
Carl Yastrzemski Boston Red Sox 1967 Left fielder AL 44 121 0.326
Miguel Cabrera Detroit Tigers 2012 Third baseman AL 44 139 0.33

Who has won the Pitching Triple Crown?

Green highlight indicates the lowest earned run average or the highest number of wins or strikeouts among all Pitching Triple Crown Winners.

Red highlight indicates the highest earned run average or the lowest number of wins or strikeouts among all Pitching Triple Crown Winners.

Player Name League Year Team ERA Wins Strikeouts
Tommy Bond NL 1877 Boston Red Caps 2.11 40 170
Guy Hecker AA 1884 Louisville Colonels 1.8 52 385
Charles Radbourn NL 1884 Providence Grays 1.38 59 441
Tim Keefe NL 1888 New York Giants 1.74 35 335
John Clarkson NL 1889 Boston Beaneaters 2.73 49 284
Amos Rusie NL 1894 New York Giants 2.78 36 195
Cy Young AL 1901 Boston Americans 1.62 33 158
Christy Mathewson NL 1905 New York Giants 1.27 31 206
Rube Waddell AL 1905 Philadelphia Athletics 1.48 27 287
Christy Mathewson NL 1908 New York Giants 1.43 37 259
Walter Johnson AL 1913 Washington Senators 1.14 36 243
Grover Cleveland Alexander NL 1915 Philadelphia Phillies 1.22 31 241
Grover Cleveland Alexander NL 1916 Philadelphia Phillies 1.55 33 167
Walter Johnson AL 1918 Washington Senators 1.27 23 162
Hippo Vaughn NL 1918 Chicago Cubs 1.74 22 148
Grover Cleveland Alexander NL 1920 Chicago Cubs 1.91 27 173
Walter Johnson AL 1924 Washington Senators 2.72 23 158
Dazzy Vance NL 1924 Brooklyn Robins 2.16 28 262
Lefty Grove AL 1930 Philadelphia Athletics 2.54 28 209
Lefty Grove AL 1931 Philadelphia Athletics 2.06 31 175
Lefty Gomez AL 1934 New York Yankees 2.33 26 158
Lefty Gomez AL 1937 New York Yankees 2.33 21 194
Bucky Walters NL 1939 Cincinnati Reds 2.29 27 137
Bob Feller AL 1940 Cleveland Indians 2.61 27 261
Hal Newhouser AL 1945 Detroit Tigers 1.81 25 212
Sandy Koufax NL 1963 Los Angeles Dodgers 1.88 25 306
Sandy Koufax NL 1965 Los Angeles Dodgers 2.04 26 382
Sandy Koufax NL 1966 Los Angeles Dodgers 1.73 27 317
Steve Carlton NL 1972 Philadelphia Phillies 1.97 27 310
Dwight Gooden NL 1985 New York Mets 1.53 24 268
Roger Clemens AL 1997 Toronto Blue Jays 2.05 21 292
Roger Clemens AL 1998 Toronto Blue Jays 2.65 20 271
Pedro Martínez AL 1999 Boston Red Sox 2.07 23 313
Randy Johnson NL 2002 Arizona Diamondbacks 2.32 24 334
Johan Santana AL 2006 Minnesota Twins 2.77 19 245
Jake Peavy NL 2007 San Diego Padres 2.54 19 240
Clayton Kershaw NL 2011 Los Angeles Dodgers 2.28 21 248
Justin Verlander AL 2011 Detroit Tigers 2.4 24 250
About Wesley Lyles 117 Articles
Wesley is a jack of all trades hobbyist. Though much of his spare time is spent playing board games (especially solo card games like Legendary), Hearthstone, Rocket League, and MLB The Show.e He also enjoys most sports, but pays way too much attention to baseball and football.