{"id":9203,"date":"2010-11-09T08:48:41","date_gmt":"2010-11-09T15:48:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.seamheads.com\/?p=9203"},"modified":"2010-11-09T08:48:41","modified_gmt":"2010-11-09T15:48:41","slug":"triples-the-forgotten-base","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/2010\/11\/09\/triples-the-forgotten-base\/","title":{"rendered":"Triples: The Forgotten Base"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u00c2 \u00c2 \u00c2 John Owen "Chief" Wilson<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The triple is the most exciting play in baseball, period.\u00c2\u00a0 There is nothing more exhilarating on the diamond than watching a fleet-footed batter lacing a pitch between hastily converging outfielders.\u00c2\u00a0 Scampering out of the box, the batter gains momentum before cutting the second base bag on the proper angle simultaneously picking up the location of the ball over their shoulder.\u00c2\u00a0 The climactic moment builds, as the daring base runner propels head first with their feet sprawled apart, wrapping their arms around the bag, an instant before the third basemen drops the tag. \u00c2\u00a0However, most casual baseball observers rarely mention this play in the same breadth as a home run, an acrobatic catch, or a blazing 100-mph fastball.\u00c2\u00a0 Why is this?<\/p>\n

The Major League Baseball single-season triples record has stood for nearly a century.\u00c2\u00a0 In 1912, John \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Chief\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Wilson<\/a> established the unfathomable total of 36 triples for the Pittsburgh Pirates.\u00c2\u00a0 During the season, he collected a triple in an unprecedented five consecutive games from June 17-20.\u00c2\u00a0 Interestingly, Wilson only gathered three triples in his final 34 games of the season, essentially setting the record by the end of August.\u00c2\u00a0 Hall of Fame pitchers Christy Mathewson, Grover Alexander, Rube Marquard, and Mordecai Brown were among those hurlers to allow one of the record setting triples.<\/p>\n

Wilson played his home games that season at cavernous Forbes Field.\u00c2\u00a0 The outfield dimensions at the time were 360 feet down the left field line, 462 feet to center field, and 376 feet down the right field line.\u00c2\u00a0 The massive ballpark was conducive to collecting extra base hits. \u00c2\u00a0During his record setting campaign, the outfielder hit 24 of 36 triples at his spacious home park.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153(Chief) Wilson\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s three base shots are entitled to be credited as one of the wonders of 1912.\u00c2\u00a0 Best of it all, few of the smashes have struck in front of fielders.\u00c2\u00a0 They have been over the their heads or between the fields, all juicy jams.\u00c2\u00a0 Ask any pitcher if Wilson hits a high ball very hard.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d – Sporting Life (September 7, 1912)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The left-handed hitting outfielder possessed average speed while amassing 114 triples over a nine-year career.\u00c2\u00a0 Amazingly, he never collected more than 14 triples in any other season.\u00c2\u00a0 How could a player with average speed accumulate such a large number of three base hits?\u00c2\u00a0 Here are some possible answers.\u00c2\u00a0 First, the batter should incorporate the ability to hit the ball in the gaps and down the lines.\u00c2\u00a0 Second, they must play their home games in a large ballpark tailored to hitting extra base hits (Forbes Field).\u00c2\u00a0 Third, the hitter must attain a significant number of plate appearances to maximize the chances of pulling off the feat (career-high 583 at-bats).\u00c2\u00a0 Finally, the player should hustle out of the batter\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s box and possess average speed to challenge an outfielder\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s throwing arm on close plays at third base.<\/p>\n

Since 1912, no player has collected more than 26 triples in a season.\u00c2\u00a0 As a result, Wilson accumulated 27.8% more triples than any other player during the past ninety-eight campaigns.\u00c2\u00a0 To illustrate, when Mark McGwire broke Roger Maris\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 home run record (70-61) in 1998, he hit only<\/em> 14.8% more home runs that season than the previous mark.\u00c2\u00a0 In other words, the triples record is statistically more difficult to break than the home run record. \u00c2\u00a0The only player to \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcapproach\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 the mark in recent history was Curtis Granderson<\/a> of the 2007 Detroit Tigers, who legged out 23 triples while playing his home games at expansive Comerica Park.\u00c2\u00a0 Dale Mitchell<\/a>, of the Cleveland Indians, was the last player to register as many \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcthree-baggers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 as Granderson in 1949.<\/p>\n

The modern game has changed significantly since the dead ball era.\u00c2\u00a0 The field dimensions are smaller leading to an increase number of fly balls ending up as souvenirs instead of landing between the outfielders.\u00c2\u00a0 To illustrate, during the 1912 season, an average of .55 triples were hit per game compared to the 2010 season when only .18 triples were collected per contest.\u00c2\u00a0 On average, there were three times as many triples accumulated per game during Wilson\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s record setting season.<\/p>\n

Another factor to consider is the average life span of a game used ball is only 6 pitches.\u00c2\u00a0 In 1912, it was common to use the same ball for the entire contest.\u00c2\u00a0 By the ninth inning, it resembled a discolored, concave sphere smothered in tobacco juice and mud.\u00c2\u00a0 In the modern game, technological advancement of the baseball itself could factor into the increasing numbers of balls leaving the yard instead of finding outfield gaps.\u00c2\u00a0 Meanwhile, the improved methods of statistical analysis and technology, such as Sportvision\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s FieldFX camera system, have enabled teams to better prepare themselves for defensive positioning.<\/p>\n

During the 2010 season, there were nearly ten times as many doubles (1.75) and five times as many home runs (.95) hit per game than triples.\u00c2\u00a0 These numbers demonstrate the statistical changes in the game today compared to the dead ball era.\u00c2\u00a0 Conceivably, the majority of modern players are content with lacing doubles and belting home runs instead of legging out triples.\u00c2\u00a0 The additional bases reached could increase a player\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s total bases, slugging percentage, and potentially increase their salary.<\/p>\n

Consequently, the only real \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcchance\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 a player has at breaking this record is to actually try to hit triples.\u00c2\u00a0 Players such as Carl Crawford<\/a> and Jose Reyes<\/a> might have the highest probability of eclipsing this mark.\u00c2\u00a0 They possess tremendous running speed and play aggressively, which is essential to challenging this remarkable achievement.\u00c2\u00a0 However, it is unlikely that anyone will ever come close to breaking the single-season triples record that has survived for almost a century.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The art of the triple sculpted by the master, John “Chief” Wilson in 1912. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":773,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[81,9,5],"tags":[2295,12094,4565,785,12095,2451,12096,2280,12092,46,4641,2571,1664,12093],"class_list":["post-9203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-features","category-general","category-statistical-analysis","tag-carl-crawford","tag-chief-wilson","tag-christy-mathewson","tag-curtis-granderson","tag-dale-mitchell","tag-forbes-field","tag-grover-alexander","tag-jose-reyes","tag-josh-robbins","tag-mark-mcgwire","tag-mordecai-brown","tag-roger-maris","tag-rube-marquard","tag-triples"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t