Curtis Granderson has 21 Freakin' Triples!

[DrungoHazewood]

I knew a while back he had like 15, but triples are strange and I figured he'd have three or four the second half. But I look today and see he has 21, with over a month left in the season. That's astounding.

He's already tied Lance Johnson and Willie Wilson for the most triples since 1950.

If he hits two more he ties Dale Mitchell for the most since WWII.

If he hits five more (26) he ties Kiki Cuyler for the most in the live-ball era.

He needs a wholly unrealistic 15 more to tie J. Owen "Chief" Wilson's mark of 36. That's one of the more insane fluke records of all time - the 2nd-most triples in the 20th century are Cuyler's 26. Even going back to the 1800s only Baltimore's own Heine Reitz, and Dave Orr ever cleared 30.

I've been a huge fan of the triple ever since I learned that the all-time team record is held by the 1894 Orioles (150). Unfortunately shrinking outfield dimensions and more athletic outfielders have cut triples by about half since the 1920s. I'd love it if one of the new parks in Minneapolis or Oakland or something had a 445 sign in right-center.

[bgfield]

You left out the most interesting stat: 13 of his 21 triples have come AWAY from Comerica Park. You'd think playing in such a huge stadium would explain why he has so many, but he's only gotten 8 there.

[BigDawg819]

Ahhhhhhhh the triple, another lost art in the Steriods Era......

[Sports Guy]

Did some of the Royals teams in the 80s(led by Wilson) bang out a lot of triples?

Seem to remember hearing that was a good triples park.

[DrungoHazewood]

Ahhhhhhhh the triple, another lost art in the Steriods Era......

Mmmm... no. Triples were done in by things unrelated to steroids:

1. Ballparks no longer commonly have massive dimensions. Up through the 1920s it was common for a park to have a fence or two near 500 ft. Some more than that. Even Yankee Stadium was over 460 to LC and CF up until it was renovated in the 70s. But aside from a few intentionally quirky dimensions almost all new parks max out around 410, 420 feet. This trend has continued with the new parks, but it really began with Babe Ruth.

2. Better outfielders. As baseball has gotten harder and outfielders have gotten faster and more skilled over time triples have declined. Part of the same effect that's washed out .400 hitters.

3. No more artificial turf. Triples had a brief rebirth in some parks in the 70s and 80s, most notably Royals Stadium in KC, as Sports Guy mentioned. A ball hugging the RF line on turf got to the corner quickly and then bounced around erratically. And balls got up the gaps faster. But with turf gone in all but a few domes this effect is pretty much gone.

[Sports Guy]

Let's not overlook the rest of Granderson's season either.

34 doubles, 17 homers...OPS just under 900...Very good year for him.

It really is amazing to see 21 triples in one season though.

[KLINE]

Almost half his hits are of the extra base kind. That and 17 steals it's amazing how much he's standing on 2nd or 3rd base. If he was on this team though all we would talk about is the fact that he strikes out 100+ times a year =)