Is This The Year An NL Slugger Wins The Triple Crown?

By Dan Schlossberg

The lowest average ever recorded by a batting champion was the .301 mark of Boston’s Carl Yastrzemski in 1968.

Since this is the Year of the Pitcher Part II, that dubious achievement is in definite danger — at least in the National League.

Luis Arraez of the San Diego Padres has won back-to-back batting crowns — one in each league — and is contending for No. 3. But he’s had some physical setbacks this season and may not be able to ward off a pair of challengers, including Atlanta’s Marcell Ozuna and MVP favorite Shohei Ohtani, a fellow DH.

If either slugger surpasses Line Drive Luis in the batting race, it could open the door for the Senior Circuit’s first Triple Crown since 1937.

Neither Hank Aaron nor Willie Mays ever won it, though the former led in each of the three Triple Crown categories at least twice (Mays led in batting and home runs but never in RBIs).

The NL’s last Triple Crown went to Joe Medwick of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1937, when Franklin D. Roosevelt was president and the American flag had 48 stars.

This year, when most of the baseball world is struggling at the plate, Ohtani and Ozuna seem amazingly immune to the malaise.

Marcell Ozuna made the 2024 NL All-Star team.Photo byMajor League Baseball

Just a few days ago, Ohtani had the most home runs (37) while ranking second in RBIs (86) and third in batting (.298).

Ozuna was actually better with a .302 average — a single digit behind Arraez — plus a league-leading 90 runs batted in and 35 home runs, one behind Ohtani.

The bearded Dominican actually flirted with a Triple Crown before, during the virus-shortened 2020 season. His 18 homers and 56 RBIs in 60 games led the league but his career-best .338 batting average was well behind batting king Juan Soto’s .351.

Nobody is going to hit close to that this season, especially with Soto in the American League, making an NL Triple Crown a definite possibility.

Neither Ozuna nor Ohtani has won a batting crown before but there’s always a first time in baseball.

The American League has had a half-dozen Triple Crowns since Medwick won the last one in the National.

They were Ted Williams (1942 and 1947), Mickey Mantle (1956), Frank Robinson (1966), Yastrzemski (1967), and Miguel Cabrera (2012).

All of them also won concurrent MVP trophies except for Williams, whose two MVP awards did not coincide with either of his Triple Crown seasons.

Whether he wins the Triple Crown or not, Ohtani is the heavy favorite for NL MVP. If he wins it, the first-year Dodger would join Frank Robinson as the only men to win the award in both leagues.

Dan Schlossberg is the author of 40 baseball books, including Home Run King: the Remarkable Record of Hank Aaron [Skyhorse, 2024]. His email is ballauthor@gmail.com.