In the 21st century, not in the era of Ty Cobb? Judge aims to rank No. 1 in both leagues with batting average, home run, RBI, and on-base percentage and slugging percentage
May 08, 2025
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Detroit Tigers legend Ty Cobb has won the most individual titles in major league history.
Cobb dominated all eight AL attacks in 1909. He left a legend with a batting average of 0.377, nine home runs, 107 RBIs, 116 runs, an on-base percentage of 0.431, a slugging percentage of 0.517, 76 steals, and 216 hits. However, the scoring category was not No. 1 in both leagues. NL Pittsburgh Pirates Tommy Ritchie was the top in both leagues with 126 points. In other words, he ranked first in both leagues in seven categories excluding scoring.
The title title title in seven categories, the second largest after Cobb, was drawn up three times. Napoleon Rajoy of the Philadelphia Athletics in 1901, Rodgers Hornsby of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1922, and Carl Yasterzemski of Boston in 1967 each won seven gold medals. All three players failed to win the title only in the steal category. However, they also had two or three sectors that were not ranked first in the combined AL and NL rankings.
In other words, the record for the most titles in both leagues based on eight categories is seven from Cobb in 1909. It is somewhat unreasonable to compare the record of the 'Tiger Tobacco Days' with that of modern baseball in the 21st century. These days, when the players' bodies, skills, and equipment have developed greatly, it is difficult for one player to monopolize the title.
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As of the 7th (Korea Standard Time), Judge ranks first in the integration of the two leagues in six of the eight categories. First of all, the four categories, batting average (0.412), hits (56), on-base percentage (0.503), and slugging percentage (0.772), are the only ones ranked first. Since the gap with the second place is large, the possibility of missing the first place seems unlikely.
On the other hand, home runs (12) and RBIs (34) are tied for first place, so fierce competition is likely to continue for the time being. In the home run category, Seattle Mariners Carl Raleigh and Philadelphia Phillies Kyle Schwarber hit 12 home runs side by side. In the RBI category, Los Angeles Dodgers Teoscar Hernandez and New York Pete Alonso are on par with Judge with 34 RBIs. In any case, it is rare in modern baseball that it ranks first in all six Western leagues.
Judge has the experience of ranking first in both leagues in four categories: home run (58), RBI (144), on-base percentage (0.458) and slugging percentage (0.701) last year, when he was unanimously named MVP. In addition, he has been strong in batting average and hits this season.
However, it is not a situation that Judge cannot covet even the scoring title. He is only four points behind the No. 1 Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani is in first place with 38 points and Judge with 34 points. It is true that leadoff Ohtani has an advantage over Judge, who is the third batter, but Judge can catch up as much as he wants depending on how the Yankees' lineup is maintained.
Of course, Judge is the overwhelming number one in the WAR, which represents team contribution. It marks bWAR 3.1, fWAR 3.5.
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The key is batting average. Even if it is difficult to continue to maintain a batting average in the 400s, if you keep a batting average in the mid-30s or higher, you can keep the first place in both leagues.
Since 1901, when the AL, NL, and the two major leagues were launched, there have been 15 batting triple crowns. Among them, the number one batting average, home run, and RBI in both leagues, that is, the unified triple crown, has been achieved five times. They include Detroit Tigers Ty Cobb in 1901, St. Louis Cardinals Rodgers Hornsby in 1925, Yankees Lou Gehrig in 1934, and Yankees Mickey Mantle in 1956.
In other words, Judge can aim for the sixth combined triple crown in Major League history in 68 years since Mantle.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
