Quote:
Originally Posted by jtur88
What would it take in the 21st century for a playe to break Owen Wilson's record of 36 triples?
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36 triples, while doable in modern times, is not all that likely. I doubt if it will be accomplished over the next 30 years. You mention that players are faster now, but so are the outfielders who chase down the balls. With a ball bouncing off a wall or bounding around in the corner, there's not a lot of time to go 270 feet while the outfielder is retrieving the ball. And there aren't enough quirky bounces during the season for one batter to get him an extra 10-15 chances to get all the way to 3rd.
Point B is that there are fewer triples-type hitters now. More players go for the long ball, which takes away from their double and triple totals.
The easiest way to get a triple is to hit it down the right field line, and then the right fielder generally has to misplay it or have been playing way off the line.
A right-handed batter is not going to hit very many balls down the right field line, so that eliminates about two-thirds of the batting population.
The other less conventional way to hit triples is to hit balls into the gaps, and just be a super-fast runner. And even then, it has to be equally distant from the two outfielders it goes between, otherwise they come up with the ball well before the runner reaches 2nd.
Most triples in a season by active players, with batting direction in parentheses:
Curtis Granderson - 23 (L)
Cristian Guzman - 22 (S)
Jimmy Rollins - 20 (S)
Carl Crawford - 19 (L)
Chone Figgins - 17 (S)
Jose Reyes - 17 (S)
Jose Reyes - 17 (S)
Carl Crawford - 16 (L)
Carl Crawford - 15 (L)
No strictly right-handed batters on the list.
Of the top 20 active career triples leaders, only four are strictly right-handed, and none of those are in the top 10.
Most triples in a season, inactive players, since 1950:
Lance Johnson - 21 (L)
Willie Wilson - 21 (S)
George Brett - 20 (L)
Willie Mays - 20 (R)
Juan Samuel - 19 (R)
Ryne Sandberg - 19 (R)
Garry Templeton - 19 (S)
Willie McGee - 18 (S)
Minnie Minoso - 18 (R)
Garry Templeton - 18 (S)
Tony Fernandez - 17 (S)
Ralph Garr - 17 (L)
Jim Gilliam - 17 (S)
Johnny Callison - 16 (L)
Rod Carew - 16 (L)
Willie Davis - 16 (L)
Paul Molitor - 16 (R)
Jim Rivera - 16 (L)
Only 5 of 18 were strictly right-handed.
I also note the high proportion of switch-hitters on the lists, which only makes sense, because switch-hitters tend to be the speedy types, and they bat left-handed most of the time anyway, so they'll still have lots more opportunities to pull the ball down the right field line.
Active stolen base leaders, with number of 10+ triple seasons, and high in parentheses:
Kenny Lofton - 2 (13)
Barry Bonds - 0 (9)
Juan Pierre - 4 (13)
Omar Vizquel - 1 (10)
Johnny Damon - 3 (11)
Luis Castillo - 1 (10)
Reggie Sanders - 0 (8)
Bobby Abreu - 2 (11)
Carl Crawford - 3 (19)
Ichiro Suzuki - 1 (12)
Edgar Renteria - 0 (4)
Mike Cameron - 0 (9)
Ray Durham - 1 (10)
Alex Rodriguez - 0 (6)
Derek Jeter - 0 (9)
Rafael Furcal - 2 (11)
Carlos Beltran - 2 (12)
Jimmy Rollins - 5 (20)
Gary Sheffield - 0 (5)
Jose Reyes - 3 (17)
Other retired players of note:
Rickey Henderson - 0 (7)
Lou Brock - 6 (14)
Tim Raines - 2 (13)
Vince Coleman - 4 (12)
Joe Morgan - 3 (12)
Willie Wilson - 6 (21)