(Updated Dec. 31, 2015)
An often overlooked skill of the great Stan Musial was his ability to hit triples.
On Aug. 17, 2010, Rays left fielder Carl Crawford hit his 100th career triple. Crawford, who turned 29 on Aug. 5, 2010, became the youngest major leaguer to reach 100 triples since Musial achieved the feat for the Cardinals at age 28 years, 8 months in 1949.
“It’s always nice to be in the company of guys with names like that,” Crawford said.
Crawford, like Musial, a left-handed batter, led the American League in triples four times: 2004 (19 triples), 2005 (15), 2006 (16) and 2010 (13).
Still, Crawford never hit as many in a season as Musial did.
Stan the Man twice hit 20 triples in a season.
Musial led the National League in triples five times: 1943 (20), 1946 (20), 1948 (18), 1949 (13) and 1951 (12).
On July 25, 1949, Musial hit his 100th career triple in a game against the Dodgers in Brooklyn. Boxscore
Musial finished with 177 career triples. To put that in perspective, Pete Rose had 135 and Willie Mays, 140.
Crawford joined two former Cardinals _ Frank Frisch and Lou Brock _ in an exclusive club when he hit his 100th career home run in 2010. Crawford became the eighth player since 1900 to achieve 100 homers, 100 triples and 400 stolen bases. The others: Frisch, Brock, Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, Paul Molitor, Kenny Lofton and Tim Raines.
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