Kershaw and Verlander Earn Pitching’s Triple Crown

Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers and Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers together did something that hasn’t happened since 1924.  Both earned the pitcher’s Triple Crown (led or tied for the league lead in wins, strikeouts, and earned run average) in their respective leagues. While Triple Crown pitchers haven’t been all that uncommon in recent years—it’s been done eight times since 1997—it hasn’t been done in both leagues in the same year in 87 years.  This is also only the third time this has happened in major league history; it also happened in 1918.

Verlander led the A.L. with 24 wins, a 2.40 ERA, and 250 strikeouts.  Kershaw tied Ian Kennedy of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the NL lead in wins with 21, and led the league with a 2.28 ERA and 248 srikeouts.  Back in 1924, Walter Johnson of the American League’s Washington Senators and Charles “Dazzy” Vance of the National League’s Brooklyn Robins (soon after renamed the Dodgers) earned the honors.  Johnson also was the American League Triple Crown winner in 1918.  James “Hippo” Vaughn of the Chicago Cubs was the Crown winner in the National League that year.  Johnson and Vance are both in the Baseball Hall of Fame, and the way Verlander and Kershaw have been pitching, they could very well join them in the Hall someday.