{"id":18269,"date":"2011-11-05T09:48:21","date_gmt":"2011-11-05T16:48:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/seamheads.com\/?p=18269"},"modified":"2011-11-05T09:48:21","modified_gmt":"2011-11-05T16:48:21","slug":"triple-milestones-2011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/2011\/11\/05\/triple-milestones-2011\/","title":{"rendered":"Triple Milestones 2011"},"content":{"rendered":"

Offensive production in the major leagues continued to decline slightly in 2011 but not as much as in 2010. The number of runs per game has declined each year from 9.72 in 2006 to 8.57 in 2011. The home run rate of 1.87 per game was the lowest since 1993. The major league batting average, on-base percentage and slugging average were all down slightly from 2010. All offensive categories are significantly below the peak year of 2000 as illustrated in the following table:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Year    Runs\/Game HR\/Game          BAVG     OBA      SLG       OPS         Triple Milestone Hitters<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1990          8.51              1.58            .258     .324      .386      .710                             2<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1991          8.62              1.61            .255     .323      .384      .707                             3<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1992          8.23              1.44            .256     .322      .377      .699                             2<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1993          9.20              1.78            .266     .332      .404      .736                             5<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1994          9.85              2.07            .270     .339      .424      .763                             3<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1995          9.69              2.02            .267     .338      .417      .755                             8<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1996        10.07              2.19            .270     .340      .427      .767                            21<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1997          9.53              2.05            .267     .337      .419      .756                             7<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1998          9.58              2.08            .266     .335      .420      .755                            14<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1999       10.17               2.28            .271      .345<\/em>     .434      .779                            19<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2000        10.28              2.34            .271      .345     .437      .782                            26<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2001          9.55              2.25            .264      .332     .427      .759                            21<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2002          9.24              2.09            .261      .331     .417      .748                            12<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2003          9.46              2.14            .264      .332     .422      .754                              8<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2004          9.63              2.25            .266      .335     .428      .763                            12<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2005          9.18              2.06            .265      .330     .419      .749                            10<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2006          9.72              2.22            .269      .336     .432      .768                            13<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2007          9.59              2.04            .268      .336     .423      .759                              8  <\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2008          9.30              2.01            .264      .333     .417      .750                              7<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2009          9.23              2.02            .262      .333     .418      .751                              6<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2010          8.77              1.90            .257      .325     .403      .728                              6 <\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2011          8.57              1.87           .255       .321     .399      .720                              7<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Jose Bautista ofTorontohit 43 home runs in 2011, the only player over 40.  He was the only player over 50 in 2010 with 54.  In a bit of a surprise, the 30 home run level was reached by 24 players in 2011 compared to 18 in 2010.<\/p>\n

A useful indicator for tracking offense is the number of players who hit for both power and average by achieving a .300 batting average, 30 home runs and 100 runs batted in.  A record 26 players reached all three milestones in 2000, but that figure has dropped significantly in recent years. Only seven players reached all three milestones in 2011, up from six in 2010.  Paul Konerko and Miguel Cabrera were the only players who made it in both 2010 and 2011.  For the first time in his eleven year career, Albert Pujols is not on the list, missing by a couple of whiskers (.299-37-99).<\/p>\n

There were four newcomers to the .300-30-100 club in 2011, Jose Bautista, Matt Kemp, Jacoby Ellsbury and Troy Tulowitzki bringing the total to 170 players who have registered at least one .300-30-100 season starting with Babe Ruth in 1920.<\/p>\n

The following is a listing of National League players who achieved triple milestones in 2011:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Player<\/span><\/strong>           Times<\/span>  BAVG HR   RBI<\/span>         Comments<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ryan Braun         3   .332    33   111         Consistently productive.<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Matt Kemp           1   .324    39   126         Breakout year.<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Troy Tulowitzki   1   .302    30   105         Came close in 2010.<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The following is a listing of American League players who achieved triple milestones in 2011:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Player<\/strong>               Times  BAVG    HR    RBI         Comments<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Miguel Cabrera    4       .344      30    105        Barely made it on home runs.<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Paul Konerko       3       .300      31    105        A model of consistency.<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jose Bautista       1       .302      43    103        Led majors in HR last 2 years.<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jacoby Ellsbury   1       .321      32    105        New highs in HR and RBI.<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Four players achieved triple milestones in 2010 but fell short in 2011:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Player<\/span><\/strong>        Prior Times  2011 BAVG-HR-RBI  2010 BAVG-HR-RBI     Comments<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Albert Pujols     10            .299-37- 99                .312-42-118          First time missed <\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Josh Hamilton     2            .298-25- 94                .359-32-100          Slowed by injuries<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Joey Votto           1            .309-29-103               .324-37-113          Needed one more HR<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Carlos Gonzalez  1            .295-26- 92                .336-34-117          Slowed by injuries<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The biggest obstacle in reaching triple milestones in 2011 was batting average.  Five players had 30 home runs and 100 RBIs in 2011 but fell short of a .300 batting average.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Prince Fielder           <\/strong><\/td>\n.299-38-120      <\/strong><\/td>\nHad better year than Pujols<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Adrian Beltre            <\/strong><\/td>\n.296-32-105      <\/strong><\/td>\nStrong in all 3 categories<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Curtis Granderson<\/strong><\/td>\n.262-41-119      <\/strong><\/td>\nBatting average hurt by strikeouts<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ryan Howard              <\/strong><\/td>\n.253-33-116      <\/strong><\/td>\n6 years with 30+ HR and 100+ RBI<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mark Teixeira<\/strong><\/td>\n.248-39-111<\/strong><\/td>\nCareer low batting average<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

A growing list contains the names of players, active in 2011, who have had multiple .300-30-100 seasons in the past but have not done it in the last three years.  Many have been limited by injuries. Some are still very productive players like Lance Berkman and David Ortiz, but not at the same level they were in their peak years.  Since this list was started in 2004, not one player has come back with another .300-30-100 season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
                            .300-30-100      Last.300-30-100  <\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Player<\/span><\/strong>                    Seasons<\/span>               Season<\/span>               2012<\/span>         Comments <\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Manny Ramirez       10                        2008             .059- 0-  1       An inglorious end<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Alex Rodriguez         8                         2008            .276-16- 62     Worst year of career<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Vladimir Guerrero    8                         2006            .290-13- 63     Clearly in decline<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Todd Helton              5                         2003            .302-14- 69     Pretty good comeback year<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Chipper Jones           5                         2001            .275-18- 70     Might be time to retire<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jason Giambi            4                         2002            .260-13- 32     Still has power off the bench<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Magglio Ordonez       4                         2002            .255- 5- 32      Too many injuries.  <\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lance Berkman         3                         2006            .301-31- 94     Comeback player of 2011<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
David Ortiz                3                         2007            .309-29- 96     Similar numbers as Berkman<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mark Teixeira           3                          2008           .248-39-111     Career low batting average.<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jim Thome                2                          2002           .256-15- 50      Reached the 600 HR mark.<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Aramis Ramirez        2                          2004           .306-26- 93      Still a dangerous hitter.<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Miguel Tejada           2                          2004           .239- 4- 26       Looks like end of the line.<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Travis Hafner           2                          2006           .280-13- 57       Essentially duplicated 2010. <\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Matt Holliday            2                          2007           .296-22- 75       Too many injuries.<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Vernon<\/strong> Wells            2                          2006           .218-25-66        Big disappointment <\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Aubrey Huff              2                          2008           .246-12- 59       Mixes bad years with good <\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
David Wright            2                          2008           .254-14- 61       Bring back Shea Stadium.  <\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

In his 1988 Baseball Abstract, Bill James referred to triple milestone seasons as “Hall of Fame Seasons”.  This was because all of the eligible players with 5 or more triple milestone seasons had been elected to the Hall of Fame.  This correlation was broken in 2011 when Juan Gonzalez and Jeff Bagwell fell short of election in their first year of eligibility.<\/p>\n

No teams had two players with triple milestones in 2011.  Twenty nine of the thirty major league teams have now had at least one triple milestone hitter since the year 2000.Kansas Cityhas not had a triple milestone hitter since Danny Tartabull in 1991.<\/p>\n

Minor league players also recorded triple milestone seasons in 2011.  <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Player<\/span><\/strong>                  <\/strong>Team (Level<\/span>)      Organization<\/span>     Age<\/span>   BAVG-HR-RBI<\/span>  <\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bryan LaHair         <\/strong>Iowa<\/strong> (AAA)        <\/strong>Chicago<\/strong> Cubs     28     .331-38-109 <\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                             Chicago (NL)                                          .288- 2-  6<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                                                                                            .326-40-115<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mike Carp              <\/strong>Tacoma<\/strong> (AAA)       <\/strong>Seattle<\/strong>           25     .343-21- 64<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                             Seattle (<\/strong>AL<\/strong>)                                            .276-12- 46<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                                                                                            .307-33-110<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Matt Adams        <\/strong>Springfield<\/strong> (AA)       <\/strong>St. Louis<\/strong>         22     .300-32-101<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Another was on the verge of a triple milestone season in the minor leagues before he was called up to the majors.     <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Paul Goldschmidt    Mobile (AA)                Arizona             23        .306-30- 94<\/p>\n

Goldschmidt had a minor league triple milestone season in 2010.<\/p>\n

Two former major leaguers had triple milestones in 2011 in the Mexican League.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Luis Terrero      <\/strong>Mexico City<\/strong> (MEX)  None              31   .390-38-110<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mendy Lopez       <\/strong>Puebla<\/strong> (MEX)       None              37   .321-31-106<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

No college players achieved triple milestones in 2011<\/p>\n

Pitchers also strive for triple milestones – 20 wins, 200 strikeouts and an ERA under 3.00. Two pitchers made it in 2011, the same number as in 2010, Justin Verlander (24-5, 250, 2.40) and Clayton Kershaw (21-5, 248, 2.28).  Both made it for the first time and they both won the triple crown for pitchers in their leagues.<\/p>\n

A complete list of players with triple milestone seasons since 1920 can be found at Baseball-Almanac, with the following link.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.baseball-almanac.com\/legendary\/triple_milestones.shtml<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n


\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Offensive production in the major leagues continued to decline slightly in 2011 but not as much as in 2010. The number of runs per game has declined each year from 9.72 in 2006 to 8.57 in 2011. The home run rate of 1.87 per game was the lowest since 1993. The major league batting average, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":140,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[104,631,17316,121,4355,1898,3281,1517,1142,17315,3410],"class_list":["post-18269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-base-percentage","tag-batting-average","tag-hr-game","tag-major-league","tag-milestone","tag-milestones","tag-offensive-categories","tag-offensive-production","tag-ops","tag-peak-year","tag-slugging-average"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/140"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18269\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}