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20–20–20 club

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A man in a grey baseball uniform and navy helmet running the bases
A man in a red baseball uniform and wearing a red helmet looks straight ahead
Curtis Granderson (left) and Jimmy Rollins (right) are the most recent players to join the 20–20–20 club, both reaching the milestone in 2007.

In Major League Baseball (MLB), the 20–20–20 club is a term applied to the group of batters who have collected 20 doubles, 20 triples and 20 home runs in a single season.[1] Frank Schulte was the first to achieve this, doing so in 1911. The most recent players to reach the milestone—Curtis Granderson and Jimmy Rollins—attained 20–20–20 during the 2007 season. This marked the first time that two players accomplished the achievement in the same season.

In total, only seven players are members of the 20–20–20 club.[2] Of these, five were left-handed batters, one was right-handed and one was a switch hitter, meaning he could bat from either side of the plate. Two of these players (and one of the two active members of the 20–20–20 club) have played for only one major league team. Two players—George Brett and Willie Mays—are also members of the 3,000 hit club,[3] and Mays is also a member of the 500 home run club.[4] Frank Schulte, Jim Bottomley and Jimmy Rollins won the MVP Award in the same year as their 20–20–20 season.[5] Both Mays and Rollins also reached the 30–30 club in the same season. Brett and Rollins collected more than 200 hits alongside achieving 20–20–20.

Historically, there have been numerous players who have hit 20 doubles and 20 home runs in a year. It is the component of triples, however, that makes the 20–20–20 club so difficult to achieve. This is because hitting triples often comes under a similar hit placement as doubles, but may require impressive speed on the part of the runner.[6] This would pose a challenge for both a slugger, who may be slower at running the bases and have the tendency to hit line drives and fly balls out of the park for a home run, as well as a speedster, who may be more swift around the bases but may not supply much power to drive the ball far.

Due to the rare occurrence and low membership of the 20–20–20 club, Baseball Digest called it "the most exclusive club in the Majors"[7] back in 1979, when there were only four members. Despite the difficulty of attaining the milestone, only three out of the five eligible club members have been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame and only two were elected on the first ballot. Eligibility requires that a player has "been retired five seasons" or deceased for at least six months, disqualifying two active players (Granderson and Rollins).

Key

Player Name of the player
Team The player's team for his 20–20–20 season
Year The year the player's 20–20–20 season occurred
2B Number of doubles in that year
3B Number of triples in that year
HR Number of home runs in that year
SB Number of stolen bases in that year
† Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame
* Player is active

Members

Willie Mays reached both the 20–20–20 club and the 30–30 club during the 1957 season and was the only player to reach both marks until Rollins joined him in 2007.
The stats are updated through May 8, 2012
Player Team Year 2B 3B HR Ref
Frank Schulte Chicago Cubs 1911 30 21 21 [8]
Jim Bottomley† St. Louis Cardinals 1928 42 20 31 [9]
Jeff Heath Cleveland Indians 1941 32 20 24 [10]
Willie Mays† New York Giants 1957 26 20 35 [11]
George Brett† Kansas City Royals 1979 42 20 23 [12]
Curtis Granderson* Detroit Tigers 2007 38 23 23 [13]
Jimmy Rollins* Philadelphia Phillies 2007 38 20 30 [14]

20–20–20–20 club

The 20–20–20–20 club refers to the group of players who have, in addition to fulfilling the requirements of the 20–20–20 club, also collected 20 or more stolen bases during their 20–20–20 season.[15][16][17]

The stats are updated through May 8, 2012
Player Team Year 2B 3B HR SB Ref
Frank Schulte Chicago Cubs 1911 30 21 21 23 [8]
Willie Mays† New York Giants 1957 26 20 35 38 [11]
Curtis Granderson* Detroit Tigers 2007 38 23 23 26 [13]
Jimmy Rollins* Philadelphia Phillies 2007 38 20 30 41 [14]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Statistics". Baseball Digest. 49 (5). Evanston, IL, USA: Century Publishing: 8. May 1990. ISSN 0005-609X. How many players have had 20 or more doubles, triples, and home rune in the same season? ... To further narrow the 20–20–20 club, has anybody else, besides Mays added 20 stolen bases ...
  2. ^ Associated Press (9 September 2007). "Granderson's 20th steal puts Tigers center fielder in select company". ESPN. Retrieved 8 December 2010. Granderson has 22 triples -- the most by a Tiger since Ty Cobb had 24 in 1917 -- and 36 doubles. He hit his 20th homer Friday, becoming the sixth player since 1900 in the 20-20-20 club and the first since Kansas City's George Brett in 1979.
  3. ^ "Career Leaders & Records for Hits". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  4. ^ "Career Leaders & Records for Home Runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  5. ^ "Most Valuable Player MVP Awards & Cy Young Awards Winners". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  6. ^ Koney, Jackie; Silva, Deidre (2008). It Takes More Than Balls: The Savvy Girls' Guide to Understanding and Enjoying Baseball. Skyhorse Publishing. pp. 66–67. ISBN 978-1-60239-631-9. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  7. ^ Wertz, Dennis M. (October 1979). "The Most Exclusive Club in the Majors: Since 1900, only four players have collected 20 doubles, triples, and homers in one season". Baseball Digest. 38 (10). Evanston, IL, USA: Century Publishing: 60–61. ISSN 0005-609X. It may sound like an eye test for a three-eyed monster in a sci-fi movie, but the combination of 20-20-20 is the criterion for membership in one of baseball's most exclusive clubs.
  8. ^ a b "Frank Schulte Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  9. ^ "Jim Bottomley Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  10. ^ "Jeff Heath Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  11. ^ a b "Willie Mays Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  12. ^ "George Brett Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  13. ^ a b "Curtis Granderson Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  14. ^ a b "Jimmy Rollins Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  15. ^ Associated Press (September 30, 2007), "Baseball: Rollins joins 20-20-20-20 club", Honolulu Advertiser (Honolulu, HI, USA), retrieved 8 December 2010, Phillies star Jimmy Rollins tripled against Washington on today and joined Curtis Granderson, Willie Mays and Frank "Wildfire" Schulte as the only players in major league history with 20 stolen bases, 20 homers, 20 triples and 20 doubles.
  16. ^ Kirby, Tim (September 9, 2007). "Granderson steals way to elite class". MLB.com. Retrieved 2012-06-16.
  17. ^ "Tigers lock up outfielder Granderson with five-year, $30.25M deal". ESPN. February 4, 2008. Retrieved 2012-06-16. He joined Willie Mays and Frank "Wildfire" Schulte as the only players in major league history with 20 steals, 20 homers, 20 triples and 20 doubles. Philadelphia shortstop Jimmy Rollins became a part of the 20-20-20-20 club later in the season.
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