Who Reached Triple Milestones in 2011?
From SABR member Bill Gilbert at Seamheads.com on November 5, 2011:
Offensive production in the major leagues continued to decline slightly in 2011 but not as much as in 2010. The number of runs per game has declined each year from 9.72 in 2006 to 8.57 in 2011. The home run rate of 1.87 per game was the lowest since 1993. The major league batting average, on-base percentage and slugging average were all down slightly from 2010.
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Jose Bautista of Toronto hit 43 home runs in 2011, the only player over 40. He was the only player over 50 in 2010 with 54. In a bit of a surprise, the 30 home run level was reached by 24 players in 2011 compared to 18 in 2010.
A useful indicator for tracking offense is the number of players who hit for both power and average by achieving a .300 batting average, 30 home runs and 100 runs batted in. A record 26 players reached all three milestones in 2000, but that figure has dropped significantly in recent years. Only seven players reached all three milestones in 2011, up from six in 2010. Paul Konerko and Miguel Cabrera were the only players who made it in both 2010 and 2011. For the first time in his eleven year career, Albert Pujols is not on the list, missing by a couple of whiskers (.299-37-99).
There were four newcomers to the .300-30-100 club in 2011, Jose Bautista, Matt Kemp, Jacoby Ellsbury and Troy Tulowitzki bringing the total to 170 players who have registered at least one .300-30-100 season starting with Babe Ruth in 1920.
Read the full article here: http://seamheads.com/2011/11/05/triple-milestones-2011/
Originally published: November 9, 2011. Last Updated: November 9, 2011.