A Look At “Unbreakable” Records: Sam Crawford’s 309 Career Triples.

What is the most exciting play in baseball? This is a heated debate that has many valid answers…could it be a diving catch? The double play? The home run? The list is endless because there really isn’t a wrong answer when this question is asked. In my eyes, the most exciting play in baseball is the triple. Nothing is more exciting than watching a hitter rope a ball into the gap for extra bases, and then turn the jets on around 2nd base, trying to stretch an easy double into a triple. I had the fortune of watching Jose Reyes do just that 99 times over the last nine seasons. Hitting a triple really pumps a crowd up because the drama is stretched over a long sprint to 3rd base, instead of watching a ball sail over the wall and the drama be done in a matter of seconds.

Sam Crawford, the pride of Wahoo, Nebraska, currently holds the MLB record for most career triples, with 309 three-baggers. He notched 20 or more triples in a season five times and led the league in this category six times. However, Crawford was a Hall of Famer, and hitting triples was only one aspect of his game. After playing 19 seasons in the Major Leagues (most with the Detroit Tigers), here are some of his career statistics:

.309 average, 97 home runs, 1525 RBI, 1391 runs scored, 2961 hits, 458 doubles, 309 triples, .362 on-base%

How close are some of today’s MLB players to Sam Crawfords career triples mark? Here is a list of the ten hitters with highest career triples:

1. Sam Crawford: 309 triples
2. Ty Cobb: 297
3. Honus Wagner: 252
4. Tris Speaker: 222
5. Jake Beckley: 221
6. Fred Clarke: 220
7. Roger Connor: 218
8. Dan Brouthers: 196
9. Joe Kelley: 194
10. Paul Waner: 191

As of right now, Carl Crawford leads all active players with 112 triples in his ten-year career. Crawford had a down year with the Red Sox in 2011, but assuming he returns to his level of play with Tampa Bay, let’s say he plays ten more years, until he is 39 years old. To approach Sam Crawford’s record (no relation), he would have to average 19 triples per season. I would find this a tough order to fill since he has only hit 19 triples in a season once in his career, and it happened almost eight years ago now. On the active leader board, the next player on the list that is not towards the end of his career is Jose Reyes, currently in fourth place with those 99 triples I was talking about earlier. Currently at the age of 28, let’s assume he also plays for another ten years. To approach Crawford’s record, Reyes would have to average 21 triples per season, something that he hasn’t done yet in his career.

So, I think it’s safe to say that Sam Crawford’s 309 career triples will not be eclipsed for a long time.