National League Triple Crown Winners Categories Explained By Year

The recent Triple Crown winners in the batting category are from the American League since Ted Williams won for the Boston Red Sox in 1942. 

However, that does not negate the impact of the five National League players who have achieved this extraordinary feat in MLB history. 

In contrast to batting, the pitching category has fifteen players from the National League who have become Triple Crown winners since MLB's foundation in 1878. 

Joe Medwick

Joe Medwick received the Triple Crown Award in 1947 during his time at St. Louis Cardinals. Joe had a batting average of .374, 31 home runs, and 154 RBI. 

Chuck Klein  

Chuck Klein received the Triple Crown in 1933 while playing for Philadelphia Phillies. He had made 28 home runs, 120 RBI, and had a batting average of .368. 

Rogers Hornsby

Rogers Hornsby achieved the Triple Crown in 1925 while signed to St. Louis Cardinals. Hornsby had a batting average of .403, 39 home runs, and 143 RBI. 

Heinie Zimmerman

Heinie Zimmerman received the Triple Crown in 1912 during his career at Chicago Cubs. Heinie had made 14 home runs, 104 RBI, and had a batting average of .372.

Paul Hines

Paul Hines is the first batter to receive the Triple Crown in the NL in 1878. He was playing for Providence Grays. He had a batting average of .374, 31 home runs, and 154 RBI. 

Clayton Kershaw

Clayton Kershaw is the recent National League pitcher who achieved the Triple Crown in 2011. He got it during his Los Angles Dodgers career with a 21-5 win-loss, 248 strikeouts, and 2.28 ERA.

Jake Peavy

Jake Peavy got the achievement in 2007 during his San Diego Padres career with a 19-6 win-loss, 2.54 ERA, and 240 strikeouts.

Dwight Gooden

Dwight Gooden got this prestigious award in 1985 during his career at New York Mets. Dwight had a 24-4 win-loss record, 1.53 ERA, and 268 strikeouts.

Steve Carlton

Steve Carlton received the achievement in 1972 during his Phillies career with a 27-10 win-loss, 1.97 ERA, and 310 strikeouts.

Sandy Koufax

Sandy Koufax got the Triple Crown in 1966 during his Los Angeles Dodgers time. Sandy contributed a 27-9 win-loss record, 1.73 ERA, and 317 strikeouts.

Bucky Walters

Bucky Walters received the Triple Crown in 1939 while playing for Cincinnati Reds with a 27-11 win-loss, 2.29 ERA, and 137 strikeouts.

Dazzy Vance

Dazzy Vance got the Triple Crown in 1924 during his Brooklyn Dodgers career with a 28-6 win-loss, 2.16 ERA, and 262 strikeouts. 

Grover Alexander

Grover Alexander got the Triple Crown in 1920 when he was with Chicago Cubs with a 27-14 win-loss, 1.91 ERA, and 173 strikeouts.

Hippo Vaughn

Hippo Vaughn gained the achievement in 1918 during his Chicago Cubs career. Vaughn had a 22-10 win-loss record, 1.74 ERA, and 148 strikeouts.

Christy Mathewson

Christy Mathewson got the achievement in 1908 during his New York Giants career. Christy contributed 37-11 win-loss record, 1.43 ERA, and 259 strikeouts.

Amos Rusie

Amos Rusie received the Triple Crown in 1894 playing for the New York Giants with a 36-13 win-loss, 2.78 ERA, and 195 strikeouts.

John Clarkson

John Clarkson got the achievement in 1889 during his Boston Beaneaters career with a 49-19 win-loss, 284 strikeouts, and 2.73 ERA.

Tim Keefe

Tim Keefe got the achievement in 1888 during his New York Giants career with a 35-12 win-loss, 1.74 ERA, and 335 strikeouts.

Old Hoss Radbourn

Old Hoss Radbourn got the achievement in 1884 while playing for the Providence Grays with a 6-12 win-loss, 1.38 ERA, and 441 strikeouts.

Tommy Bond

Tommy Bond was the first pitcher to be bestowed with this prestigious achievement in 1877. He was playing for the Boston Beaneaters and made a 40-17 win-loss, 2.11 ERA, and 170 strikeouts record.

Baseball Triple Crown winners both leagues include Rogers Hornsby and Ted Williams.

Rogers Hornsby won the Triple Crown for the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1922 and 1925 seasons. In the 1922 season, Rogers contributed 42 home runs, followed by a batting average of .401 and 152 RBI. 

Then in 1925, he made the Triple Crown achievement again with a batting average of .403, 39 home runs, and an RBI of 143. Hornsby played for the Cardinals until the 1926 season and officially retired in 1937.

Ted Williams won two Triple Crowns in 1942 and 1947 when he played for the Boston Red Sox in the American League. In the 1942 season, he made 36 homers, 137 RBI, and had a batting average of .356. 

Then in 1947, Williams achieved the rare feat again by having a batting average of .343, RBI of 114, and 32 home runs. Ted played all 19 years of his career for the Red Sox and finally retired in 1960. 

The last National League Triple Crown winner is Clayton Kershaw for the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

Kershaw had an impressive performance in the 2011 season and got 21 wins, 2.28 ERA, and 248 strikeouts to retain the league leader in these valuable statistics. A Dodgers player had received this rare award after 45 years. 

Alongside his Triple Crown, he was rewarded with the All-Star game, NL Cy Young Award, Players Choice Award, and the Gold Glove Award in 2011. 

The 35-year-old pitcher is still playing in the MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers since his debut for them in 2008. He has been loyal to the team and spent 15 years in the Dodgers territory. 

Miguel Cabrera Triple Crown Year Story

Miguel Cabrera won the Triple Crown in 2012 by leading the batting statistical records for the Detroit Tigers in the American League. 

With the match against Kansas City Royals on 3 October 2012, Cabrera broke the 45 year of drought for Triple Crown in the Batting category. 

The first baseman had a stellar performance in the 2012 season, with 44 home runs, 139 RBI, and an impressive .330 batting average. 

The MLB community celebrated this rare occasion enthusiastically: the fans gave a standing ovation on his match against Kansas City and the MLB released an official logo to commemorate his Triple Crown. 

Moreover, the previous Triple Crown winners and Hall of Famers like Carl Yastrzemski and Frank Robinson also poured their congratulations on Cabrera. Yastrzemski was glad Miguel achieved this while leading his team to the American League Central title.

The MLB Triple Crown category is divided into Batting Category and Pitching Category. 

The batting category requires the baseball player to become a decisive leader in home runs, RBIs, and batting averages. Some players have gone beyond these three records, like Ty Cobb, who won the Triple Crown and led the stolen bases statistics in the 1909 season. 

Moreover, the Triple Crown achievers like Lou Gehrig, Rogers Hornsby, and Mickey Mantle had their totals being the highest in the MLB as well. 

The pitching category entails the player lead in Earned Runs Average, strikeouts, and wins. Players like Grover Alexander (1915 and 1916) and Roger Clemens (1997 and 1998) have accomplished this award in consecutive years. 

If we look at history since 1878, the ratio of batting triple crowns vs pitching triple crowns has been uneven, with the pitching category raking in more winners and with fewer year gaps.