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Baltimore Orioles: The Lost Art of the Triple in the MLB

By Kristen Bentley |
BALTIMORE, MD - MAY 26: Adam Jones #10 of the Baltimore Orioles hits a triple in the third inning to extend hit hitting streak to seventeen games during a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on May 26, 2012 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - MAY 26: Adam Jones #10 of the Baltimore Orioles hits a triple in the third inning to extend hit hitting streak to seventeen games during a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on May 26, 2012 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

In today’s version of baseball, home runs drive the game; and it is easy to see this with contracts given to players like the Baltimore Orioles Chris Davis.

With all of the focus on the home run, triples have become incredibly rare; and this, too, is evident when looking at the Baltimore Orioles stats.

Granted, triples are one of the toughest extra-base hit to achieve, because of analytics and world-class defense. In 2019, only four players achieved double-digit triples and none of them had more than 10 in one season. Interestingly, three of the four were Kansas City Royals. And only one, Adalberto Mondesi, had more triples than home runs.

In 2019, the triples-leader on the Orioles was Jonathan Villar, with five. Yes, Orioles Park at Camden Yards is not the ideal park for triples; he hit two at home. He hit the other three at Rogers Centre, Tropicana Field, and Comerica Park. Of these parks, Comerica Park and Tropicana Field are hitter-friendly, especially for Triples. Rogers Centre and Camden Yards are not.

I’m not downplaying the value of a home run. Hitting a baseball out of a MLB park is a feat that very few humans can do. But, once the batter hits the home run, the suspense is gone. With a triple, this is not the case. A triple is the ultimate in suspense, as so many factors go into achieving it.

Looking at Baltimore Orioles triples stats, over the years the leaders are men who played when the team was the St. Louis Browns. The only modern-era players in the top 10 are Brooks Robinson and Brady Anderson. Robinson is tied for sixth with 68 triples in his 10,654 at-bats. Anderson ranks tenth with 64 triples in 6,271 at-bats.

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The man with more at-bats than anyone else in a Orioles uniform, Cal Ripken Jr. has 44 triples in 11,551 at-bats. Granted, he wasn’t known for his speed around the bases.

The Orioles triples leader is George Sisler. He hit 145 triples during his 12 seasons with the St. Louis Brown between 1915 and 1927. (He did not play in 1923). The all-time leader in triples in the MLB is Sam Crawford, who hit 309 of them during hit tenure with the Detroit Tigers and Cincinnati Reds between 1899 and 1917. These stats are misleading in today’s game because many ballparks did not have outfield fences in the Dead Ball Era.

The modern-era triples leader is Stan Musial who hit 177 of them during his career with the St. Louis Cardinals. Unless something drastic changes in today’s game, Musial’s modern-era record is sure to last. Triples are risky, so for many teams, doubles are good enough.

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Of active players (those assumed to be on rosters in 2020), Dexter Fowler leads the league with 82 triples. In recent Orioles history, the triples leader is Adam Jones who has 27 throughout his career. The next closest is Nick Markakis with 16.

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