Home Run Leaders’ Triples and Stolen Bases : Players with Both Power and Speed
- Makio Mukai
- Sep 19
- 5 min read
All home run leaders (the players with the most home runs in each season in each league) naturally possess incredible power. But are there any home run leaders who also possess incredible speed? To explore this, I looked at players who were both home run leaders and triples leaders (the players with the most triples in each season in each league), as well as players who were both home run leaders and stolen base leaders (the players with the most stolen bases in each season in each league).
First, I look at players who were both home run and triples leaders.
In the modern era of Major League Baseball, which began in 1901, six players have been home run and triples leaders in the same season. See the list below.
Home Runs | Triples | |
Tommy Leach (1902) | 6 | 22 |
Harry Lumley (1904) | 9 | 18 |
Jim Bottomley(1928) | 31 | 20 |
Willie Mays (1955) | 51 | 13 |
Mickey Mantle (1955) | 37 | 11 |
Jim Rice (1978) | 46 | 15 |
Of the six players listed above, the first two (Tommy Leach and Harry Lumley) had more triples than home runs, but their playing days were known as the "dead-ball era," when the ball didn't fly very far. Therefore, it might be best not to consider these two players on the same level as the other four.
Of these six players, only Willie Mays won home run and triples titles not only in the same season but also in different seasons. Mays won the home run title four times and the triples title three times, and on one of those occasions he won the home run and triples titles in the same season. The other five players won different numbers of home run titles, but won the triples title only once, and that was the year they won the home run and triples titles listed above.
So, are there any players who have never been the home run and triples leader in the same season but have been the home run and triples leader in different seasons? There are 15 players. Among active players, only one player has achieved this: Shohei Ohtani (home run leader in 2023 and 2024, triples leader in 2021).
The 15 players won different numbers of home run titles, but all but two won the triples title just once. Those two are Sam Crawford and Ty Cobb. Here is a list of the 15 players:
Home Run Leader (Number of times) | Triples Leader (Number of times) | |
Sam Crawford | 2 | 6 |
Jimmy Sheckard | 1 | 1 |
Buck Freeman | 2 | 1 |
Frank Schulte | 2 | 1 |
Ty Cobb | 1 | 4 |
Frank Baker | 4 | 1 |
Wally Pipp | 2 | 1 |
Rogers Hornsby | 2 | 1 |
Lou Gehrig | 3 | 1 |
Joe Medwick | 1 | 1 |
Joe DiMaggio | 2 | 1 |
Johnny Mize | 4 | 1 |
Dick Allen | 2 | 1 |
Ryne Sandberg | 1 | 1 |
Shohei Ohtani | 2 | 1 |
Next, players who were both home run and stolen base leaders.
In the modern era of Major League Baseball, which began in 1901, only three players have been home run and stolen base leaders in the same season. See the list below.
Home Runs | Stolen Bases | |
Ty Cobb (1909) | 9 | 76 |
Jimmy Sheckard | 9 | 67 |
Chuck Klein | 35 | 20 |
Of these three, Ty Cobb and Jimmy Sheckard only won the home run title once and also won the stolen base title in the same season, but Ty Cobb also won the stolen base title in other seasons (he won the stolen base title six times in total). Chuck Klein won the home run title four times, but only the stolen base title once.
So, are there any players who have never won the home run and stolen base titles in the same season, but have won them in different seasons? There is only one: Willie Mays. Mays won the home run title four times, and stolen base title four times. It's fair to say it's strange that he was never the home run leader and the stolen base leader in the same season.
Here are some of the points I want to make based on these results:
1) In the nearly 70 years since Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays in 1955, no player has been the home run and triples leader in the same season. In recent years, there have also been very few players who have been the home run and triples leader in different seasons. Among active players, only Shohei Ohtani has done so, and even in the 21st century, he is still the only player to do so. Shohei Ohtani's achievement marks the first time in about 40 years, since Ryne Sandberg, who was the triples leader in 1984 and the home run leader in 1990.
Why is this happening? Is it because in recent years, the home run leader has often been a player with power but not much speed? Hopefully, I will see a player with the power and speed to become the home run and triples leader in the future.
2) Since Chuck Klein in 1932, no player has been the home run and stolen base leader in the same season. Even in the nearly 70 years since Willie Mays, no player has been the home run and stolen base leader in different seasons. Why? Perhaps it's because the stolen base leaders are often players with little power but great speed. While that's impressive in itself, I'd like to see a player with both power and speed to become the home run and stolen base leader.
3) From the results of this analysis, we can see that two players stand out: Ty Cobb and Willie Mays. Ty Cobb played during the dead-ball era and became the home run leader with only nine home runs, his only time as the home run leader. This makes it difficult to compare him to players from after the dead-ball era. On the other hand, it's fair to say that Willie Mays' play, which made full use of both his incredible power and speed, stands out compared to players of any era. This result is not surprising at all, but rather something that one would expect.
( If I’ve made a mistake or left out something important, please let me know. I’ll try to make corrections or additions.)