Triple Crown Trivia

Entering the 2010 season the only player that was universally given any kind of chance of winning baseball's Triple Crown for hitting was the Cardinals Albert Pujols. Given his ability to hit for both average and power, we still can't rule out the possibility of Pujols becoming the first player to lead his league in batting average, home runs, and RBI since 1967 when the Red Sox Carl Yaztrzemski accomplished the rare feat. Yaz had one of 16 Triple Crown seasons in baseball history--and three of those occurred back in the 19th century. Hall of Famers Ted Williams (1942, 1947) and Rogers Hornsby (1922, 1925) are the only two players to pull off the hallowed trifecta more than once.

Entering play on Tuesday, however, an unlikely hitter is leading the Triple Crown charge in the National League: Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier, who leads the Senior Circuit with a .365 batting average, 26 RBI, and is tied for the league lead with nine home runs with two others. There are a few interesting things to note about Ethier's candidacy for the Crown.

First, he is not even considered the best hitter on his own team; that distinction is generally given to fellow outfielder Matt Kemp or the one and only Manny Ramirez. If you had told most baseball fans that a Dodgers hitter would be contending for the Triple Crown at any point this season, nine out of 10 would have guessed Kemp, not Ethier.

The other weird thing about Ethier's contention is that only one Triple Crown winner has ever played for a losing team--Chuck Klein for the 1933 Philadelphia Phillies--and the last three winners (Yazstrzemski, Frank Robinson, and Mickey Mantle) all played for first place teams. Yet Kemp's Dodgers are currently residing in last place in the N.L. West.

Do I think we need to seriously concern ourselves with Ethier making history by winning a Triple Crown for a last place squad? No, not at all. Ethier is a nice player, but I doubt he will finish in the top 10 of more than one of the Triple Crown categories when all is said and done. As for the Dodgers, they were my preseason pick to win the West, but something is seriously amiss with this team (read: pitching). Thus, while I don't think they'll wind up in last place, there's a far better chance of that happening than there is of anyone, even Pujols, winning a Triple Crown this season.