What is a Triple in Baseball? (Explained, Facts, and Other Information)

What is a triple?

A triple is a play where the hitter successfully hits the ball into fair play and reaches third base without the defense committing an error or attempting to put out another player (generally a runner from first base attempting to cross home plate).

Triples are abbreviated 3B, and may called by different names by announcers: three-bagger or three-base hit.

How many triples are there in a typical season?

The number of triples varies by season. In the most recent decade (2011-2019, omitting 2020 due to pandemic shortened season), teams combined for an average of 759 triples per season. That number is a bit misleading, though, since there were only 437 triples total in 2018 and 2019.

Table Showing Total Triples by Decade

Decade	Average Per Season
1901-1910	1078
1911-1920	1175
1921-1930	1199
1931-1940	973
1941-1950	786
1951-1960	693
1961-1970	803
1971-1980	938
1981-1990	893
1991-2000	873
2001-2010	916
2011-2019	759

You can see the declining trend across 20th and 21st century, particularly in the 2018 and 2019 season:

Are triples rare?

Triples are the rarest hit type (single, double, triple, home run). For example, Major League Baseball hitters were almost eight times more likely to hit a home run than a triple during the 2018-2020 seasons.

Hit Type	Number of Occurrences	Percent (of Total Hit Types)
Single	61,340	22.25%
Double	19,618	4.48%
Triple	1,873	0.43%
Home Run	14,665	3.35%

This is why a triple is sometimes called the most exciting play in baseball.

Why were there more triples in the late 19th and early 20th century?

Over at Hardball Times, Miles Wray provided some excellent reasons for why there may have been more triples in the early days of baseball:

1. Outfield Dimensions: outfields could be over 450 feet deep, whereas the deepest dimension of any baseball stadium in 2021 is 420 feet
2. Scouting Reports: teams better know where to position outfielders, and teams know which outfielders have good (and bad) arms
3. Groundskeeping: baseball outfields look pristine in modern times, and that was not so much the case in the early days of baseball

Who are the leaders for triples (single-season, team, career)

Career Triples Leaders

Sam Crawford has the most triples ever in baseball. Check out the top 10 triples leaders:

Player	# of Triples	# of Plate Appearances
Sam Crawford	309	10594
Ty Cobb	295	13072
Honus Wagner	252	11739
Jake Beckley	243	10470
Roger Connor	233	8837
Tris Speaker	222	11988
Fred Clarke	220	9819
Dan Brouthers	205	7658
Joe Kelley	194	8120
Paul Waner	191	10762

Career Triples Leaders (1980-2020)

In more recent years, Willie Wilson has the most career triples, though he has just 43% (132 vs. 309) the number of triples as career leader Sam Crawford.

Player	# of Triples	# of Plate Appearances
Willie Wilson	132	7411
Brett Butler	131	9545
Jose Reyes	131	8240
Steve Finley	124	10460
Carl Crawford	123	7178
Lance Johnson	117	5800
Kenny Lofton	116	9235
Jimmy Rollins	115	10240
Tim Raines	113	10359
Johnny Damon	109	10917

Single-Season Triples Leaders (All-Time)

Owen Wilson owns the record for most triples in a season with 36. The next closer are Dave Orr and Heine Reitz. All players with at least 26 triples in a single season are listed below:

Player	# of Triples	Year
Owen Wilson	36	1912
Dave Orr	31	1886
Heinie Reitz	31	1894
Perry Werden	29	1893
Harry Davis	28	1897
Sam Thompson	28	1894
George Davis	27	1893
Jimmy Williams	27	1899
Sam Crawford	26	1914
Kiki Cuyler	26	1925
Shoeless Joe Jackson	26	1912
John Reilley	26	1890
George Treadway	26	1894

Single-Season Triples Leaders (1980-2020)

In more recent years (1980-2020), only five players have had at least 20 triples in a season. Curtis Granderson leads the way with 23.

Player	# of Triples	Year
Curtis Granderson	23	2007
Lance Johnson	21	1996
Willie Wilson	21	1985
Cristian Guzman	20	2000
Jimmy Rollins	20	2007
Carl Crawford	19	2004
Jose Reyes	19	2008
Juan Samuel	19	1984
Ryne Sandberg	19	1984
Willie McGree	18	1985

Career Leaders for Each Team

Team	Player	# of Triples
Arizona All Players	Stephen Drew David Peralta Tony Womack Steve Finley Gerardo Parra	52 41 37 34 31
Braves All Players	Rabbit Maranville Henry Aaron Bill Bruton Eddie Mathews Ray Powell	103 96 79 70 67
Orioles All Players	George Sisler Baby Doll Jacobson Jack Tobin Del Pratt Ken Williams	103 96 79 70 67
Red Sox All Players	Harry Hooper Tris Speaker Buck Freeman Bobby Doerr Larry Gardner	130 106 90 89 87
Cubs All Players	Frank Schulte Phil Cavarretta Joe Tinker Ernie Banks Billy Williams	117 99 93 90 87
White Sox All Players	Nellie Fox Shano Collins Luke Appling Eddie Collins Johnny Mostil	104 104 102 102 82
Reds All Players	Edd Roush Pete Rose Vada Pinson Curt Walker Mike Mitchell	152 115 96 94 88
Indians All Players	Earl Averill Tris Speaker Elmer Flick Shoeless Joe Jackson Jeff Heath	121 108 106 89 83
Rockies All Players	Dexter Fowler Neifi Perez Charlie Blackmon Larry Walker Carlos Gonzalez	53 49 48 44 39
Tigers All Players	Ty Cobb Sam Crawford Charlie Gehringer Harry Heilmann Bobby Veach	284 249 146 145 136
Astros All Players	Jose Cruz Joe Morgan Roger Metzger Terry Puhl Craig Biggio	80 63 62 56 55
Royals All Players	George Brett Willie Wilson Amos Otis Hal McRae Frank White	137 133 65 63 58
Angels All Players	Jim Fregosi Chone Figgins Mike Trout Erick Aybar Garret Anderson	70 53 49 43 35
Dodgers All Players	Zack Wheat Willie Davis Hi Myers Jake Daubert Duke Snider	171 110 97 87 82
Marlins All Players	Luis Castillo Juan Pierre Adeiny Hechavarria Hanley Ramirez Dee Strange-Gordon	42 34 31 26 23
Brewers All Players	Robin Yount Paul Molitor Ryan Braun Charlie Moore Jim Gantner	126 86 49 42 38
Twins All Players	Sam Rice Joe Judge Goose Goslin Buddy Myer Mickey Vernon	183 157 125 113 108
Mets All Players	Jose Reyes Mookie Wilson Bud Harrelson Cleon Jones Steve Henderson	113 62 45 33 31
Yankees All Players	Lou Gehrig Earle Combs Joe DiMaggio Wally Pipp Tony Lazzeri	163 154 131 121 115
Athletics All Players	Danny Murphy Al Simmons Home Run Baker Eddie Collins Harry Davis	102 98 88 85 82
Phillies All Players	Sherry Magee Jimmy Rollins Richie Ashburn Johnny Callison Larry Bowa	127 111 97 84 81
Pirates All Players	Honus Wagner Paul Waner Roberto Clemente Pie Traynor Max Carey	210 187 166 164 148
Padres All Players	Tony Gwynn Gene Richards Will Venable Dave Winfield Garry Templeton	85 63 39 39 36
Giants All Players	Willie Mays Larry Doyle Bill Terry Ross Youngs Travis Jackson	139 117 112 93 86
Mariners All Players	Ichiro Suzuki Harold Reynolds Ken Griffey Jr. Phil Bradley Spike Owen	79 48 30 26 23
Cardinals All Players	Stan Musial Rogers Hornsby Enos Slaughter Lou Brock Jim Bottomley	177 143 135 121 119
Rays All Players	Carl Crawford Kevin Kiermaier Ben Zobrist Randy Winn Desmond Jennings	105 45 32 28 22
Rangers All Players	Michael Young Elvis Andrus Ruben Sierra Chuck Hinton Ivan Rodriguez	55 48 44 30 28
Blue Jays All Players	Tony Fernandez Lloyd Moseby Alfredo Griffin Willie Upshaw Alex Rios	72 60 50 42 36
Nationals All Players	Tim Raines Andre Dawson Vladimir Guerrero Tim Wallach Warren Cromartie	82 67 34 31 30