Winning a Triple Crown is, as everybody knows, extraordinarily difficult.
Only three batters in baseball’s Modern Era — the 63-year period from 1961 to the present — have simultaneously led their leagues in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in:
Frank Robinson of the 1966 Baltimore Orioles: BA .316, HR 49, RBI 122
Carl Yastrzemski of the 1967 Boston Red Sox: BA .326, HR 44, RBI 121
Miguel Cabrera of the 2012 Detroit Tigers: BA .330, HR 44, RBI 139
The first baseman for the Atlanta Braves, Matt Olson, made a decent run at joining this exclusive club in 2023. He pounded 54 homers (seven more than anyone else in the National League) and drove home 139 runs (21 more than the league’s RBI runner-up). He came up short only in the batting-average category, where his BA of .283 ranked 12th among the NL’s qualified hitters (those who made at least 502 plate appearances).
What was surprising about Olson’s outstanding season was the relatively small amount of publicity it received. The national press was considerably more excited about the accomplishments of a pair of his Atlanta teammates, right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. (the frontrunner for the NL’s Most Valuable Player Award) and pitcher Spencer Strider (a leading contender for the Cy Young Award).
But Olson finally gets his due in my rankings of 2023’s top performances in the Triple Crown categories, where he boasts the highest score in either league.
The rankings are based on the same scale that is used to tabulate MVP votes. A league’s top batter in each category is given 14 points, the runner-up gets nine, and each subsequent member of the top 10 steps down another point. The maximum possible score of 42 points is reserved for Triple Crown winners.
Olson’s victories in the HR and RBI categories give him a total of 28 points, putting him atop the National League standings. Acuna is the NL’s runner-up at 21 points, and two stars are tied for third with 17 points apiece: Mookie Betts, the right fielder and second baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Pete Alonso, the first baseman for the New York Mets.
First place in the American League goes to Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels, whose skills as a designated hitter and pitcher are almost certain to win him the league’s MVP trophy.
Ohtani topped the league with 44 homers, finished fourth in BA at .304, and was 14th with 95 RBIs. His total score on the Triple Crown scale is 21 points, two better than runner-up Kyle Tucker (19 points) of the Houston Astros and three more than No. 3 Adolis Garcia (18 points) of the Texas Rangers. Both are right fielders.
You’ll find the complete Triple Crown standings for both leagues below. Each batter is followed in parentheses by his batting average, home runs, and runs batted in.
Subscribe — free — to Baseball’s Best (and Worst)
A new installment will arrive in your email upon posting
American League
1. Shohei Ohtani, Angels (.304/44/95), 21 points
2. Kyle Tucker, Astros (.284/29/112), 19 points
3. Adolis Garcia, Rangers (.245/39/107), 18 points
4. Corey Seager, Rangers (.327/33/96), 16 points
5. Yandy Diaz, Rays (.330/22/78), 14 points
6. Rafael Devers, Red Sox (.271/33/100), 13 points
7. Julio Rodriguez, Mariners (.275/32/103), 12 points
8. Bo Bichette, Blue Jays (.306/20/73), 8 points
8. Isaac Paredes, Rays (.250/31/98), 8 points
8. Luis Robert Jr., White Sox (.264/38/80), 8 points
8. Marcus Semien, Rangers (.276/29/100), 8 points
12. Aaron Judge, Yankees (.267/37/75), 7 points
13. Masataka Yoshida, Red Sox (.289/15/72), 6 points
13. Yordan Alvarez, Astros (.293/31/97), 6 points
15. Alex Bregman, Astros (.262/25/98), 5 points
16. Jose Ramirez, Guardians (.282/24/80), 4 points
17. Adley Rutschman, Orioles (.277/20/80), 3 points
17. Bobby Witt, Royals (.276/30/96), 3 points
17. Josh Naylor, Guardians (.308/17/97), 3 points
17. Spencer Torkelson, Tigers (.233/31/94), 3 points
21. Eugenio Suarez, Mariners (.232/22/96), 1 point
21. Justin Turner, Red Sox (.276/23/96), 1 point
National League
1. Matt Olson, Braves (.283/54/139), 28 points
2. Ronald Acuna Jr., Braves (.337/41/106), 21 points
3. Mookie Betts, Dodgers (.307/39/107), 17 points
3. Pete Alonso, Mets (.217/46/118), 17 points
5. Luis Arraez, Marlins (.354/10/69), 14 points
6. Kyle Schwarber, Phillies (.197/47/104), 11 points
7. Juan Soto, Padres (.275/35/109), 9 points
8. Freddie Freeman, Dodgers (.331/29/102), 8 points
8. Ozzie Albies, Braves (.280/33/109), 8 points
10. Cody Bellinger, Cubs (.307/26/97), 7 points
11. Marcell Ozuna, Braves (.274/40/100), 6 points
11. Max Muncy, Dodgers (.212/36/105), 6 points
13. Bryce Harper, Phillies (.293/21/72), 5 points
13. Nick Castellanos, Phillies (.272/29/106), 5 points
15. Austin Riley, Braves (.281/37/97), 4 points
15. Michael Harris II, Braves (.293/18/57), 4 points
17. Jorge Soler, Marlins (.250/36/75), 3 points
17. William Contreras, Brewers (.291/17/78), 3 points
19. Seiya Suzuki, Cubs (.285/20/74), 2 points
20. Christian Walker, Diamondbacks (.258/33/103), 1 point
20. J.D. Martinez, Dodgers (.271/33/103), 1 point
20. Xander Bogaerts, Padres (.285/19/58), 1 point