Monday, March 26, 2007
The Tremendous Triplex
Since Baseball began, the Triple Crown ideal has created a lot of hoopla, especially the batter's version of said Crown; since 1967, when Carl Yastrzemski belted his way into Kinghood, there's been an awed hush surrounding the possibility of another, the belief being that any player that can lead his league in batting average, homeruns & runs batted in should be feted as the ultimate specimen of baseball-playing prowess...though since it's happened seven times since then on the pitcher's side, said pitcher's version doesn't hold quite the same allure: one could gather that leading one's league in wins, earned run average & strikeouts is historically easier than what the batter has to face, using his fine eye to combine a high average with bashing ability.
Before I go further, here are those Triple Crown winners since Baseball began (actual stats in the "complaints" section):
Triple Crown - Hitters
1947 Ted Williams
1956 Mickey Mantle
1966 Frank Robinson
1967 Carl Yastrzemski
Triple Crown - Pitchers
1963 Sandy Koufax
1965 Sandy Koufax
1966 Sandy Koufax
1972 Steve Carlton
1985 Dwight Gooden
1997 Roger Clemens
1998 Roger Clemens
1999 Pedro Martinez
2002 Randy Johnson
2006 Johan Santana
These seasons are, one and all, fine examples of baseball-playing superiority...but not necessarily of dominance - and since domination is the ultimate barometre of excellence, well, grab hold of the cape flapping behind my super-heroic Tremendous Triplex and come for a ride through a wonderland of league-leading preeminence of both batter and pitcher.
It should be obvious at this point, I hope, that a batter has no more control over RBI opportunities than a pitcher does in getting the "W" - at least the pitcher can influence which way the win-wind blows, but pitching around a certain hitter shouldn't adversely affect said hitter's season. To counteract this, I looked at who led their league in homeruns, on-base average & slugging percentage, as this better illustrates who is better in the two most valuable aspects of hitting: immediate runs & getting on base. Further still, to retain some sense of the truly spectacular, only hitters who have led the Major Leagues in these categories will be recognized:
Tremendous Triplex - Hitters
1965 Willie Mays
1967 Carl Yastrzemski
1981 Mike Schmidt
As for pitchers, ERA, though flawed, remains...though it is book-ended by WHIP, the best tool to judge how well a pitcher is doing what he's supposed to, which is keeping men off base, and Ks per 9 innings instead of straight strikeouts, as totals aren't nearly as precise as average in determining game-by-game performance. The abomination of "wins" as a stat is thrown directly into the bin of obsolete stats, settling in nicely next to Game-Winning RBI & Stolen Base-totals, leaving us, again, only with the pitchers who led the Majors in these categories:
Tremendous Triplex - Pitchers
1971 Tom Seaver
1986 Mike Scott
1999 Pedro Martinez
2001 Randy Johnson
Seven total (with actual stats also in the "complaints" section), and with the exception of Mike Scott, legends all...though it could be argued that Scott's 1986 season should stand alone as a made-by-Disney movie, as he threw a no-hitter in his penultimate start of the season to clinch a playoff berth for his Astros.
Regardless of Mike Scott's seemingly incongruous inclusion on this list, I believe that you'll all agree that this new "Triple Crown" better measures dominance than its antiquated predecessor; if not, well, too fucking bad. ¶ 11:31 AM
Before I go further, here are those Triple Crown winners since Baseball began (actual stats in the "complaints" section):
Triple Crown - Hitters
1947 Ted Williams
1956 Mickey Mantle
1966 Frank Robinson
1967 Carl Yastrzemski
Triple Crown - Pitchers
1963 Sandy Koufax
1965 Sandy Koufax
1966 Sandy Koufax
1972 Steve Carlton
1985 Dwight Gooden
1997 Roger Clemens
1998 Roger Clemens
1999 Pedro Martinez
2002 Randy Johnson
2006 Johan Santana
These seasons are, one and all, fine examples of baseball-playing superiority...but not necessarily of dominance - and since domination is the ultimate barometre of excellence, well, grab hold of the cape flapping behind my super-heroic Tremendous Triplex and come for a ride through a wonderland of league-leading preeminence of both batter and pitcher.
It should be obvious at this point, I hope, that a batter has no more control over RBI opportunities than a pitcher does in getting the "W" - at least the pitcher can influence which way the win-wind blows, but pitching around a certain hitter shouldn't adversely affect said hitter's season. To counteract this, I looked at who led their league in homeruns, on-base average & slugging percentage, as this better illustrates who is better in the two most valuable aspects of hitting: immediate runs & getting on base. Further still, to retain some sense of the truly spectacular, only hitters who have led the Major Leagues in these categories will be recognized:
Tremendous Triplex - Hitters
1965 Willie Mays
1967 Carl Yastrzemski
1981 Mike Schmidt
As for pitchers, ERA, though flawed, remains...though it is book-ended by WHIP, the best tool to judge how well a pitcher is doing what he's supposed to, which is keeping men off base, and Ks per 9 innings instead of straight strikeouts, as totals aren't nearly as precise as average in determining game-by-game performance. The abomination of "wins" as a stat is thrown directly into the bin of obsolete stats, settling in nicely next to Game-Winning RBI & Stolen Base-totals, leaving us, again, only with the pitchers who led the Majors in these categories:
Tremendous Triplex - Pitchers
1971 Tom Seaver
1986 Mike Scott
1999 Pedro Martinez
2001 Randy Johnson
Seven total (with actual stats also in the "complaints" section), and with the exception of Mike Scott, legends all...though it could be argued that Scott's 1986 season should stand alone as a made-by-Disney movie, as he threw a no-hitter in his penultimate start of the season to clinch a playoff berth for his Astros.
Regardless of Mike Scott's seemingly incongruous inclusion on this list, I believe that you'll all agree that this new "Triple Crown" better measures dominance than its antiquated predecessor; if not, well, too fucking bad. ¶ 11:31 AM
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Triple Crown Stats - Hitters
1947
Ted Williams
.343/32 HR/114 RBI
1956
Mickey Mantle
.353/52 HR/130 RBI
1966
Frank Robinson
.316/49 HR/122 RBI
1967
Carl Yastrzemski
.326/44 HR/121 RBI
1947
Ted Williams
.343/32 HR/114 RBI
1956
Mickey Mantle
.353/52 HR/130 RBI
1966
Frank Robinson
.316/49 HR/122 RBI
1967
Carl Yastrzemski
.326/44 HR/121 RBI
Triple Crown Stats - Pitchers
1963
Sandy Koufax
25 W/1.88 ERA/306 K
1965
Sandy Koufax
26 W/2.04 ERA/382 K
1966
Sandy Koufax
27 W/1.73 ERA/317 K
1972
Steve Carlton
27 W/1.97 ERA/310 K
1985
Dwight Gooden
24 W/1.53 ERA/268 K
1997
Roger Clemens
21 W/2.05 ERA/292 K
1998
Roger Clemens
20 W/2.65 ERA/271 K
1999
Pedro Martinez
23 W/2.07 ERA/313 K
2002
Randy Johnson
24 W/2.32 ERA/334 K
2006
Johan Santana
19 W/2.77 ERA/245 K
1963
Sandy Koufax
25 W/1.88 ERA/306 K
1965
Sandy Koufax
26 W/2.04 ERA/382 K
1966
Sandy Koufax
27 W/1.73 ERA/317 K
1972
Steve Carlton
27 W/1.97 ERA/310 K
1985
Dwight Gooden
24 W/1.53 ERA/268 K
1997
Roger Clemens
21 W/2.05 ERA/292 K
1998
Roger Clemens
20 W/2.65 ERA/271 K
1999
Pedro Martinez
23 W/2.07 ERA/313 K
2002
Randy Johnson
24 W/2.32 ERA/334 K
2006
Johan Santana
19 W/2.77 ERA/245 K
League-Independent Tremendous Triplex Stats - Hitters
1947
Ted Williams
32/.499/.634
1949
Ted Williams
43/.490/.650
1951
Ralph Kiner
42/.452/.627
1955
Mickey Mantle
37/.431/.611
1956
Duke Snider
43/.399/.598
1965
Willie Mays
52/.398/.645
1966
Frank Robinson
49/.637/.410
1967
Carl Yastrzemski
44/.418/.622
1969
Willie McCovey
45/.453/.656
1972
Dick Allen
37/.420/.603
1981
Mike Schmidt
31/.435/.644
1993
Barry Bonds
46/.458/.677
*before Bonds was a basehead
1997
Larry Walker
49/.452/.720
2005
Alex Rodriguez
48/.421/.610
*Jason Giamboid led league with .440 OBA...however, MLB doesn't yet test for HGH, and as that's the very crack that made Giamboid a basehead, he doesn't matter
1947
Ted Williams
32/.499/.634
1949
Ted Williams
43/.490/.650
1951
Ralph Kiner
42/.452/.627
1955
Mickey Mantle
37/.431/.611
1956
Duke Snider
43/.399/.598
1965
Willie Mays
52/.398/.645
1966
Frank Robinson
49/.637/.410
1967
Carl Yastrzemski
44/.418/.622
1969
Willie McCovey
45/.453/.656
1972
Dick Allen
37/.420/.603
1981
Mike Schmidt
31/.435/.644
1993
Barry Bonds
46/.458/.677
*before Bonds was a basehead
1997
Larry Walker
49/.452/.720
2005
Alex Rodriguez
48/.421/.610
*Jason Giamboid led league with .440 OBA...however, MLB doesn't yet test for HGH, and as that's the very crack that made Giamboid a basehead, he doesn't matter
League-Independent Tremendous Triplex Stats - Pitchers
1948
Harry Brecheen
2.24/1.04/5.75
1950
Early Wynn
3.20/1.25/6.02
1962
Sandy Koufax
2.54/1.04/10.55
1964
Sandy Koufax
1.74/0.93/9.00
1965
Sandy Koufax
2.04/0.86/10.24
1971
Vida Blue
1.82/.952/8.68
1971
Tom Seaver
1.76/0.95/9.08
1973
Tom Seaver
2.08/0.98/7.79
1986
Mike Scott
2.22/0.92/10.00
1995
Randy Johnson
2.48/1.05/12.35
1997
Pedro Martinez
1.90/0.93/11.37
1999
Pedro Martinez
2.07/0.92/13.20
2000
Pedro Martinez
1.74/0.74/11.78
2001
Randy Johnson
2.49/1.01/13.41
2002
Pedro Martinez
2.26/0.92/10.79
2003
Pedro Martinez
2.22/1.04/9.93
2004
Johan Santana
2.61/0.92/10.46
2006
Johan Santana
2.77/1.00/9.44
1948
Harry Brecheen
2.24/1.04/5.75
1950
Early Wynn
3.20/1.25/6.02
1962
Sandy Koufax
2.54/1.04/10.55
1964
Sandy Koufax
1.74/0.93/9.00
1965
Sandy Koufax
2.04/0.86/10.24
1971
Vida Blue
1.82/.952/8.68
1971
Tom Seaver
1.76/0.95/9.08
1973
Tom Seaver
2.08/0.98/7.79
1986
Mike Scott
2.22/0.92/10.00
1995
Randy Johnson
2.48/1.05/12.35
1997
Pedro Martinez
1.90/0.93/11.37
1999
Pedro Martinez
2.07/0.92/13.20
2000
Pedro Martinez
1.74/0.74/11.78
2001
Randy Johnson
2.49/1.01/13.41
2002
Pedro Martinez
2.26/0.92/10.79
2003
Pedro Martinez
2.22/1.04/9.93
2004
Johan Santana
2.61/0.92/10.46
2006
Johan Santana
2.77/1.00/9.44
For Shits & Giggles, here are the Tremendous Triplex Winners of the pre-Baseball-era (1900-1946):
1909
Ty Cobb
9/.431/.517
* that's right, 9 homeruns - all in-the-parkers
1919
Babe Ruth
29/.456/.657
1920
Babe Ruth
54/.533/.849
1921
Babe Ruth
59/.512/.846
1923
Babe Ruth
41/.545/.764
1924
Babe Ruth
46/.513/.739
1925
Rogers Hornsby
39/.489/.756
1926
Babe Ruth
47/.516/.737
1927
Babe Ruth
60/.486/.772
1931
Babe Ruth
46/.495/.700
1934
Lou Gehrig
49/.465/.706
1936
Lou Gehrig
49/.478/.696
1939
Jimmie Foxx
35/.464/.694
1941
Ted Williams
37/.553/.735
1942
Ted Williams
36/.499/.648
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1909
Ty Cobb
9/.431/.517
* that's right, 9 homeruns - all in-the-parkers
1919
Babe Ruth
29/.456/.657
1920
Babe Ruth
54/.533/.849
1921
Babe Ruth
59/.512/.846
1923
Babe Ruth
41/.545/.764
1924
Babe Ruth
46/.513/.739
1925
Rogers Hornsby
39/.489/.756
1926
Babe Ruth
47/.516/.737
1927
Babe Ruth
60/.486/.772
1931
Babe Ruth
46/.495/.700
1934
Lou Gehrig
49/.465/.706
1936
Lou Gehrig
49/.478/.696
1939
Jimmie Foxx
35/.464/.694
1941
Ted Williams
37/.553/.735
1942
Ted Williams
36/.499/.648
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