This is a guest post submitted by Mike Wright. Mike played all kinds of sports growing up and adamantly follows everything sports. He works with Phoenix Bats, a company that creates world-class wood bats for amateur and professional ball players around the world. Mike loves writing on different sports topics and is honored to contribute here.


Major League Baseball certainly features an array of great accomplishments in its over 130-year history.

Some of the achievements are indeed rare, including the Triple Crown.

The Triple Crown is achieved when one batter leads his respective league in batting average, home runs and runs batted in. Since modern record-keeping began at the start of the 20th century, the Triple Crown has only been achieved 13 times, the last in 1967 by Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox.

There are those who believe that the Triple Crown may never be achieved, and given the fact that it’s
been 45 years since Yaz last captured the elusive Triple Crown, they may in fact be correct. However,
here is a list of five current MLB stars who are certainly more than capable of ending the Triple Crown
drought.

5. Carlos Gonzalez: Colorado Rockies

In 2010, Colorado Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez had a breakout season, leading the National
League with a .336 average and narrowly missing out on the Triple Crown, with 34 HR and 117 RBI.

At just 26 years of age, Gonzalez is just entering the prime of his career and has plenty of time to not
only expand on his 2010 numbers, but to possibly end the Triple Crown drought as well.

4. Ryan Braun: Milwaukee Brewers

Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun, the 2011 National League MVP, narrowly missed out on the
batting title, finishing just five points behind eventual winner Jose Reyes. Braun also finished sixth in
home runs (33) and fourth in RBI (111).

Braun could very well be aided by the defection to the American League by former NL stars Albert
Pujols and Prince Fielder, and the current Achilles heel injury to Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan
Howard. With just a bit more pop in the bat, Braun could be an excellent candidate.

3. Jose Bautista: Toronto Blue Jays

Over the past two seasons, Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Jose Bautista has clearly shown that he is
capable of big-time production, with 97 home runs and 227 RBI during that span. In addition, Bautista
raised his batting average over 40 points last season, ending with a .302 mark.

If Bautista continues to hone his eye and develop even better plate discipline, the Triple Crown may not
be out of his reach.

2. Adrian Gonzalez: Boston Red Sox

Last year, Adrian Gonzalez’s first season with the Boston Red Sox, he finished second in the American

League batting race to Miguel Cabrera, hitting .338 with 27 HR and 117 RBI. While Gonzalez’s home run
numbers dipped slightly, he is capable of much more, hitting 40 long balls while playing half his games at
pitcher-friendly Petco Park in 2009.

In hitter-friendly Fenway Park, Gonzalez could absolutely be in contention for the Triple Crown,
especially with his power to the opposite field.

1. Miguel Cabrera: Detroit Tigers

Ever since breaking into the majors with the Florida Marlins in 2003, Miguel Cabrera has been a hitting
machine. In 2011, Cabrera captured the American League batting title with a .344 average while belting
30 HR with 105 RBI.

With Prince Fielder now in the Detroit Tigers’ lineup, Cabrera won’t be pitched around nearly as often,
and could very well be a viable candidate for the elusive Triple Crown.