Major League Baseball, in 2020, declared the Negro Leagues from 1920-1948 to be Major Leagues. That change should prompt a new look at some old trivia – and some adjustments in how we view the record books. The inclusion of Negro League statistics is possible to a great extent by the work of the creators of the Seamheads.com Negro League Data Base, as well as the finding of study by the Negro League Researchers and Author Group and the work of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Baseball-Reference.com also deserves kudos for its efforts to incorporate Negro League statistics into its data base. Note: Keep in mind, MLB is counting only league records not barnstorming or exhibition exploits, there were not uniform record-keeping standards during the era and statistics and game records are not yet fully incorporated.
These efforts, as noted, are producing some changes in the Major-League record books – many of particular interest to trivia buffs. For example, Mike Schmidt, with eight MLB home runs title, has long been considered number-two in that category – trailing only Babe Ruth’s 12 home run crowns. Well, between 1930 and 1946 Josh Gibson won 11 Negro National League II home run titles. Then, there is Satchel Paige, long listed as one of a handful of pitchers with a losing record to be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame. With the addition of his eligible Negro Leagues stats from 1927-47, he is now credited with a 121-81 major league won-lost mark. And there are other popular trivia question answers that have or may change. For example, Leon Day of the Newark Eagles has joined Bob Feller as one of (now) only two pitchers to have thrown an Opening Day no-hitter. And, Baseball-reference.com now shows a handful of Negro League players who fashioned a .400 batting average in the seasons after Ted Williams’ .406 in 1941. Most of those involved season in which the player appeared in less than 50 games. However, in 1943, the Homestead Grays’ Josh Gibson hit .466 in 69 games.
With this situation in mind, Baseball Roundtable will present occasional post that reflects the inclusion of Negro League statistics into the MLB record books. Let’s start with Triple Crown winners.
Q: Name the four major-league players who have won multiple (batting) Triple Crowns.
Three Triple Crowns – Oscar Charleston – 1921, 1924, 1925
Photo: Almendares baseball club (Cuba), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Hall of Famer Oscar Charleston (OF/1B) was one of the stars of the Negro Leagues. Among major leaguers, his .364 career average (over 18 seasons and 916 games … 1920-27, 1929, 1933-41– 916) trails only Ty Cobb’s .366 (among players with 3,000 career major-league plate appearances). Charleston led his league in runs scored six times, home runs five times, RBI four times, total bases four times, batting average three times (each time hitting over .400), hits three times, triples three times, doubles twice, stolen bases twice. In his prime seasons 1920-27 -ages 23-30), Charleston averaged .384,with 108 home runs and 623 RBI in 596 games.
In his book “The Baseball 100,” Joe Posnanski placed Oscar Charleston at number-five, behind only Willie Mays, Babe Ruth, Barry Bonds and Hank Aaron.
Hall of Famer Honus Wagner on Oscar Charleston
“Oscar Charleston could have played on any big league team in history if he had been given the opportunity. He could hit, run and throw. He did everything a great outfielder is supposed to do. I’ve seen all the great players in the many years I’ve been around and have yet to see one greater than Charleston.
Pittsburgh Courier, August 21, 1954
Charleston spent much of his MLB career as a player-manager and led the Pittsburgh Crawford to Negro National League II pennants in 1933, 1935 and 1936.
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Two Triple Crowns – Ted Williams, Josh Gibson, Rogers Hornsby
Ted Williams … 1942, 1947
Photo: Baseball Digest, back cover, May 1949 issue. [1], Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Williams played in 19 MLB seasons (1939-42, 1946-60), all for the Red Sox. An All Star in 17 seasons, he led the AL in runs scored six times, batting average six times, total bases six times, home runs four times, RBI four times and doubles twice. He also led the AL in on-bases percentage 12 times and slugging percentage nine times. The two-time MVP also led the AL in walks eight times and and intentional walks nine times. Williams hit .316 or higher in 18 of his 19 MLB seasons. His only season under that figure was 1959, when – as a 40-year-old, he hit .254-10-43 in 103 games.
Ted Williams’ final stat line was .344-521-1,839, with 1,798 runs scored (2,292 games). Looking at his spots in MLB’s career top 20: He is eleventh all time in average (among players with 3,000 plate appearances); first in on-base percentage (.482); second in slugging percentage (.634); 20th in runs scored; 20th in home runs; 16th in runs batted in; 20th in extra-base hits; fourth in walks; and sixth in intentional walks.
Ted Williams had two .400+ batting average seasons. His iconic .406 in 1941 (.406-37-120 in 143 games) and 1953 – after returning from flying more than 30 combat missions in Korea. He was mustered out in time to get in 37 games over the final two months of the season. Over those contets, Williams went 37-for-91 (.407), with 13 home runs and 34 RBI.
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Josh Gibson 1936, 1937
In 1936, Pittsburgh Crawfords’ catcher Josh Gibson won the Negro National League II Triple Crown with a .389-18-66 line in 50 games. He came back even stronger in 1937, with a second Triple Crown (with the Homestead Grays), improving on all three stats (.417-20-73). Overall, Gibson played 14 (now) MLB seasons (1930. 1933-40, 1942-46). He led his league in home runs 11 times, RBI seven times, total bases six times, runs scored five times and average three times. He was a nine-time Negro Leagues All Star. In 1943, Gibson appeared in 69 games for the Homestead Grays hitting .466, scoring 93 runs, hitting 20 homers and driving in 109. He led the league in home runs and RBI, but lost the batting title to Tetelo Vargas of the New York Cubans, who hit .471 in 30 games.
For his career (598 games), Gibson hit .374-165-730. Note: His 2,511 plate appearances fall short of the 3,000 necessary to make the career batting average list.
Gibson would most likely have moved well up the statistical rankings had he not suffered significant health problems. In 1943, he collapsed at home and was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He passed away in 1947 at the age of 35. From 1943-46, despite health issues, Gibson hit .382-50-249 in 209 games – leading the Negro National League II in home runs all four seasons.
Josh Gibson led the Negro National League II in home runs for seven straight seasons (1933-39) and led the league in RBI in six of those campaigns.
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Rogers Hornsby – 1922 and 1925
Rogers Hornsby, in putting up a .358 carer batting average, hit .400+ in three season – winning the National League batting title all three times (1922, 1924, 1925) and capturing the NL Triple Crown in 1922 and 1925. Both of Hornsby’s Triple Crowns were “no-doubters. In 1922, the powerful second baseman won the batting title by 47 points, had a 16-home run edge over the NL second finisher and topped the runner-up in RBI by 20. In 1925, he won the NL batting crown by 36 points, the home run crown by 15 dingers and led in RBI by 13.
Hornsby played 23 MLB seasons (1915-37 … Cardinals, Giants, Braves, Cubs, Browns). He hit .358, with 2,930 hits, 301 home runs 1,584 RBI and 1,579 runs scored in 2,259 games, He led his league in batting average seven times, total bases seven times, runs scored five times, hits four times, doubles four times, RBI four times, triples twice and home runs twice. Hornsby’s .358 career average is the highest in MLB-history for a right-handed batter (minimum 3,000 plate appearances.)
In the six seasons from 1920 through 1925, Rogers Hornsby averaged .397 – and won six consecutive batting titles.
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Here are your one-time Triple Crown winners:
2012 … Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers, American League … .330-44-139
1967 … Carl Yastrzemski, Boston Red Sox, American League … .326-44-121
1966 … Frank Robinson, Baltimore Orioles, American League … .316-49-122
1956 … Mickey Mantle, New York Yankees, American League … .353-52-130
1942 … Ted Strong, Kansas City Monarchs, Negro American League … .364-6-32
1942 … Lennie Pearson, Newark Eagles & Homestead Grays Negro National League II … .347-11-56
1937 … Joe (Ducky) Medwick, Cardinals, National League … .374-31-154
1934 … Lou Gehrig, New York Yankees, American League … .363-49-166
1933 … Jimmie Foxx, Philadelphia Athletics, American League … .356-48-163
1933 … Chuck Klein, Philadelphia Phillies, National League … .368-28-120
1930 … Willie Wells, St. Louis Stars, Negro National League … .411-17-114
1926 … George (Mule) Suttles, St. Louis Stars, Negro National League, … .425-32-130
1923 … Oscar (Heavy) Johnson, Kansas City Monarchs, Negro National League … .406-20-120
1912 … Henry (Heinie) Zimmerman, Chicago ?Cubs, National League … .372-14-104
1909 … Ty Cobb, Detroit Tigers, American League … .377-9-107
1901 … Napoleon (Nap) Lajoie, Philadelphia Athletics, American League … .426-14-125
1887 … James (Tip) O’Neill, St. Louis Browns, American Association … .435-14-123
1878 … Paul Hines, Providence Grays, National League … .358-4-50
Note: RBI were not an official MLB statistic until 1920.
Primary Resources: Seamheads.com; Baseball-Reference.com
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