Team Triple Crown Winners During 2017 Baseball Season

Before the Holidays it appeared a certainty that All-Star second baseman Brian Dozier would be playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers, but team officials have recently admitted that trade talks with the Minnesota Twins have been tabled. Although a deal could still be made before Opening Day, that news has to be a relief for Twins fans.

After all, Minnesota relied almost exclusively last year on the production of Dozier. He led the club in the three most traditional offensive categories, earning him the honor of a team Triple Crown winner.

He batted.268 and hit 42 home runs, the most by a second baseman in forty years. Dozier also notched 99 runs batted in, more than anyone else on the Twins in spite of spending much of the season in the lead off spot.

In spite of Dozier’s phenomenal season, the Twins still finished in last place in the American League Central. In fact, half of the other team triple crown winners came from clubs that finished in the basement.

Freddie Freeman accomplished the task for the Atlanta Braves, who finished at the bottom of the National League East. He batted .302, hit 34 home runs, and collected 91 RBI.

On the opposite coast, the San Diego Padres came in last. They did have a team triple crown winner in Wil Myers, who finished the season with a 259 batting average with 28 home runs and 94 RBI.

Another cellar dweller, the Tampa Bay Rays, also had one player finish with the club’s highest average (.273), as well as most home runs (36) and RBI (98). Third baseman Evan Longoria’s offensive season was one of the few highlights for Tampa Bay, who ended 2016 with the worst record in the A.L. East.

The other three team triple crown winners all came from winning clubs, two of which made the playoffs. The Washington Nationals were led offensively by second baseman Daniel Murphy, who batted .347 with 25 home runs and 104 RBI.

Murphy’s former teammate in New York, Yoenis Cespides, took the triple crown for the Mets. He hit .280 (tied with teammate Asdrubel Cabrera), crushed 31 home runs, and drove in 86, only to see the Mets lose the Wild Card game to San Francisco.

In the Junior Circuit, Detroit fell just one game short of reaching the postseason. Veteran first baseman Miguel Cabrera, who won baseball’s only Triple Crown this century, hit .316 with 38 home runs and 108 RBI to lead the Tigers.

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