Daily Archives: July 5, 2012

The Pittsburgh Pirates’ Chief Wilson Hit 36 Triples in a Season 100 Years Ago

A couple days ago Sports List of the Day listed baseball’s all-time triples leaders. It was a list dominated by old-timers – really old-timers – with most of the players (15 of 20) playing the majority of their careers prior to 1917.

How the game has changed. The active leaders (and likely future players), also listed in that post, will never manage a challenge. They are at best a third off the pace.

And so it holds true for the single-season triples leaderboard, and even a little moreso. A full 19 of the best 21 seasonal triples marks were of that same old-timers’ era (late 1800′s through about 1916). The average fan probably knows only a handful of these guys, if that: Ty Cobb, Shoeless Joe Jackson and maybe Sam Crawford (the all-time career triples leader).

So, I added a second list, one that’s a lot more fun for those of us still kicking, and it’s headed by the New York Yankees‘ Curtis Granderson (though he did it with the Detroit Tigers). Below, there’s a rundown of the top 20 with the most triples in a season since 1950.

Lance Johnson, Willie Wilson, George Brett, Jimmy Rollins, Jose Reyes…Willie Mays! It’s a list of some of the most exciting, dynamic and explosive (on the base paths) players of the past 60 years or so.

While you’re looking at both lists, notice this, another big difference between the eras: the proliferation of switch-hitters. There is clearly at least a correlation between hitting triples and being a switch-hitter in today’s player.

Follow me on Twitter @VinGetz.

ALL-TIME

SINCE 1950

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