Baseball’s Triple Crown is one of the sport’s rarest statistical accomplishments.
A hitter wins the traditional Triple Crown by leading his league in batting average, home runs and runs batted in during the same season.
There is also a pitching Triple Crown, which requires a pitcher to lead his league in wins, ERA and strikeouts.
The feat is difficult because it requires one player to dominate three different statistical categories at the same time. No MLB hitter has won the traditional Triple Crown since Miguel Cabrera did it for the Detroit Tigers in 2012. [MLB]
What Is The Batting Triple Crown?
A player wins baseball’s batting Triple Crown when he finishes the regular season leading either the American League or National League in all three of these categories:
- Batting average
- Home runs
- Runs batted in, or RBIs
The player does not have to lead all of Major League Baseball in all three statistics. Leading his own league is sufficient.
MLB describes the Triple Crown as leading either the American League or National League in batting average, home runs and RBIs. [MLB]
Why Is It Called The Triple Crown?
The term refers to finishing first in three of baseball’s most traditional offensive statistics.
The Triple Crown is not a separate postseason award like the MVP, Cy Young or Rookie of the Year.
Instead, it is a statistical achievement earned automatically when a player finishes the season atop all three categories.
Because batting average measures a hitter’s ability to collect hits, home runs measure power and RBIs reflect run production, the three statistics historically represented three different dimensions of offensive dominance.
Who Was The Last MLB Player To Win The Triple Crown?
Miguel Cabrera was the most recent hitter to win baseball’s Triple Crown.
Cabrera did it for the Detroit Tigers in 2012 by leading the American League with:
- .330 batting average
- 44 home runs
- 139 RBIs
His accomplishment ended a 45-year Triple Crown drought. No hitter had done it since Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox in 1967. [MLB]
Cabrera also won the 2012 American League MVP Award.
Who Won The Triple Crown Before Miguel Cabrera?
Carl Yastrzemski won the American League Triple Crown in 1967.
Yastrzemski hit:
- .326
- 44 home runs
- 121 RBIs
He also led the American League in several additional offensive categories while helping Boston reach the World Series. [MLB]
Frank Robinson had accomplished the feat just one season earlier for the Baltimore Orioles in 1966, batting .316 with 49 home runs and 122 RBIs.
Which MLB Players Have Won The Batting Triple Crown?
Since RBIs became an official Major League statistic in 1920, 10 players have combined to win 12 recognized Triple Crowns. [MLB]
| Year | Player | Team | League |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Miguel Cabrera | Detroit Tigers | AL |
| 1967 | Carl Yastrzemski | Boston Red Sox | AL |
| 1966 | Frank Robinson | Baltimore Orioles | AL |
| 1956 | Mickey Mantle | New York Yankees | AL |
| 1947 | Ted Williams | Boston Red Sox | AL |
| 1942 | Ted Williams | Boston Red Sox | AL |
| 1937 | Joe Medwick | St. Louis Cardinals | NL |
| 1934 | Lou Gehrig | New York Yankees | AL |
| 1933 | Jimmie Foxx | Philadelphia Athletics | AL |
| 1933 | Chuck Klein | Philadelphia Phillies | NL |
| 1925 | Rogers Hornsby | St. Louis Cardinals | NL |
| 1922 | Rogers Hornsby | St. Louis Cardinals | NL |
Rogers Hornsby and Ted Williams are the only players on that official post-1920 list to win the batting Triple Crown twice. [MLB]
Were There Triple Crown Winners Before 1920?
Yes, although there is an important statistical qualification.
RBIs were not considered an official Major League statistic until 1920, so earlier Triple Crowns are generally calculated retrospectively using reconstructed RBI totals.
MLB’s historical list includes players such as:
- Ty Cobb — 1909
- Heinie Zimmerman — 1912
- Nap Lajoie — 1901
- Hugh Duffy — 1894
- Tip O’Neill — 1887
- Paul Hines — 1878
MLB notes that RBI totals for those seasons predate the statistic becoming official. [MLB]
Who Was The Last National League Triple Crown Winner?
The National League’s drought is even longer than MLB’s overall Triple Crown drought.
Joe Medwick of the St. Louis Cardinals was the last National League player to win it, in 1937.
Medwick hit:
- .374
- 31 home runs
- 154 RBIs
His 31 home runs tied New York Giants star Mel Ott for the NL lead, but a tie for first still qualified Medwick as a league leader and therefore did not prevent him from earning the Triple Crown. [MLB]
Can A Player Tie For The Lead And Still Win The Triple Crown?
Yes.
A player does not necessarily have to be the sole leader in every category.
If he ties another player for first place in one of the three statistics while leading or tying for the other two, he can still be recognized as a Triple Crown winner.
Joe Medwick’s 1937 season is the clearest example. His 31 home runs tied Mel Ott for the National League lead, while Medwick led the league outright in batting average and RBIs. [MLB]
Why Is The Triple Crown So Difficult To Win?
The three statistics demand somewhat different skills.
A batting-title contender needs to consistently collect hits and avoid prolonged slumps.
A home-run leader needs elite power.
An RBI leader generally needs both power and enough opportunities with runners on base to drive in a large number of runs.
Many great hitters dominate two of the three categories but fall short in the third.
Aaron Judge, for example, led the American League in home runs and RBIs in 2024, but Bobby Witt Jr. won the batting title at .332. [MLB]
Does Winning The Triple Crown Guarantee The MVP Award?
No.
Triple Crown winners frequently win MVP because the statistical accomplishment usually accompanies an exceptional offensive season, but the two honors are separate.
Miguel Cabrera won the 2012 American League MVP after capturing the Triple Crown.
Mickey Mantle won the MVP in his 1956 Triple Crown season, and Frank Robinson and Carl Yastrzemski also won MVP awards during their Triple Crown campaigns. [MLB]
But Ted Williams provides a famous counterexample. He won the Triple Crown in both 1942 and 1947 but did not win the American League MVP in either season.
What Is The Pitching Triple Crown?
Pitchers have their own version of the Triple Crown.
A pitcher earns the pitching Triple Crown by leading his league in:
- Wins
- Earned run average, or ERA
- Strikeouts
Like the batting version, the pitcher only needs to lead his own league rather than all of Major League Baseball.
Who Recently Won The Pitching Triple Crown?
Two pitchers accomplished the feat in the same season in 2024.
Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers led the American League with 18 wins, a 2.39 ERA and 228 strikeouts.
Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves led the National League with 18 wins, a 2.38 ERA and 225 strikeouts.
MLB recognized both as pitching Triple Crown winners. [MLB]
Other notable modern pitching Triple Crown winners include Justin Verlander, Clayton Kershaw and Shane Bieber.
Did Shohei Ohtani Ever Win A Triple Crown?
No.
Shohei Ohtani has led leagues in various major offensive categories and has produced historically unusual combinations of hitting and pitching, but he has not finished a season leading his league in batting average, home runs and RBIs simultaneously.
The Triple Crown is based specifically on those three traditional hitting statistics, so extraordinary production in stolen bases, OPS, pitching or other categories does not substitute for one of them.
Did Aaron Judge Ever Win A Triple Crown?
No.
Judge has come close by dominating multiple Triple Crown categories.
In 2024, for example, Judge led the American League with 58 home runs and 144 RBIs, but Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. won the batting title with a .332 average. [MLB]
A player must finish first in all three categories during the same season.
Is Anyone Chasing The Triple Crown In 2026?
Yes. Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez has taken a serious run at the American League Triple Crown during the closing weeks of the 2026 season.
Through games played September 22, Alvarez was leading the American League with a .314 batting average and was tied with Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero for the home-run lead at 41.
His biggest obstacle was RBIs. Baltimore’s Pete Alonso had 108, while Alvarez had 102. [Houston Chronicle]
That means Alvarez remains within striking distance but must make up significant ground in RBIs during the final games of the season.
If he succeeds, he would become the first hitter to win the Triple Crown since Cabrera in 2012. [MLB]
Why Do Some Fans Say The Triple Crown Uses Outdated Statistics?
Modern baseball analysis places more emphasis on statistics such as on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, OPS+, wRC+ and WAR than it did when the Triple Crown became famous.
Batting average does not account for walks or distinguish singles from extra-base hits, while RBIs depend partly on how frequently teammates reach base ahead of a hitter.
That has led some analysts to view the Triple Crown categories as incomplete measures of overall offensive value.
But the accomplishment remains significant because leading an entire league in average, power and run production simultaneously is extremely difficult. The rarity of the feat is a major part of its appeal.
Is There An Official Triple Crown Trophy?
No.
The Triple Crown is primarily a statistical distinction rather than an award determined by voting.
A player earns it by finishing first in all three required categories.
There is no ballot and no subjective decision about whether a player qualifies.
What Is The Difference Between The Triple Crown And MVP?
| Triple Crown | MVP |
|---|---|
| Based on three specific statistical categories | Determined by voting |
| Hitter must lead league in average, HR and RBI | Considers overall player value and performance |
| No voter judgment required | BBWAA voters select the winner |
| Can theoretically have multiple winners | One MVP is selected in each league |
| Extremely rare | Awarded every season |
Baseball Triple Crown FAQ
What three stats make up baseball’s Triple Crown?
For hitters: batting average, home runs and RBIs.
What is the pitching Triple Crown?
Leading the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts.
Who was the last hitter to win the Triple Crown?
Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers in 2012.
What were Miguel Cabrera’s Triple Crown numbers?
He hit .330 with 44 home runs and 139 RBIs in 2012.
Who was the last National League Triple Crown winner?
Joe Medwick of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1937.
Has anyone won the Triple Crown more than once?
Yes. Rogers Hornsby won it in 1922 and 1925, while Ted Williams won it in 1942 and 1947.
Can two players tie and still win the Triple Crown?
Yes. A tie for a league lead can count. Joe Medwick tied for the NL home-run lead during his 1937 Triple Crown season.
Does the Triple Crown include stolen bases?
No. Stolen bases are not part of the traditional batting Triple Crown.
Does a player have to lead all of MLB?
No. Leading either the American League or National League in all three categories is enough.
Is there a Triple Crown trophy?
No. It is a statistical accomplishment rather than a voted award.
Who is chasing the Triple Crown in 2026?
Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros remains in the American League race entering the final days of the season. Through September 22 he led in batting average, was tied for the home-run lead and trailed Pete Alonso in RBIs.
