RetroSimba

First baseman Jim Bottomley achieved an impressive, but unheralded, triple crown.

Bottomley is the only Cardinal to lead the National League in triples, home runs and RBI in a season.

In helping the Cardinals to the 1928 pennant, Bottomley paced the league with 20 triples, 31 home runs and 136 RBI. He shared the home run lead with Hack Wilson of the Cubs.

Of Bottomley’s 187 hits in 1928, roughly half (93) were for extra bases (he had 42 doubles). His 362 total bases led the NL that year. He won the NL Most Valuable Player Award in 1928, with 76 points in the voting by baseball writers. Freddie Lindstrom of the Giants was runner-up, with 70 points.

Reporting on the MVP balloting in the Dec. 6, 1928, edition of The Sporting News, L.H. Addington wrote, “Against right-handed pitching, (Bottomley) excels and picks his targets on the right field fences. The right field pavilion at Sportsman’s Park … has seen many a shrieking drive sail over its head from the bat of Jim Bottomley.”

A left-handed batter, Bottomley hit .341 with 17 triples, 23 homers and 103 RBI against right-handed pitchers in 1928. He batted .287 against left-handers.

Four other Cardinals _ Rogers Hornsby, Joe Medwick, Johnny Mize and Stan Musial _ came close to matching Bottomley’s feat. Each led the NL in two of the categories, but not all three.

_ 1921: Hornsby hit 21 home runs, two behind league leader George “High Pockets” Kelly of the Giants. Hornsby topped the NL in triples (18) and RBI (126).

_ 1925: Hornsby won the official Triple Crown, leading the NL in homers (39), RBI (143) and batting average (.403). His 10 triples were far behind the 26 of league leader Kiki Cuyler of the Pirates.

_ 1937: With NL highs of 31 homers, 154 RBI and a .374 batting average, Medwick won the official Triple Crown, the last NL player to do so. His 10 triples trailed the 17 of league leader Arky Vaughan of the Pirates.

_ 1940: Mize, no speedster at 6-feet-2 and 215 pounds, had 13 triples, two behind Vaughan, again the NL leader. Mize topped the NL in homers (43) and RBI (137).

_ 1948: Musial fell one home run short of winning both the official Triple Crown and the one unofficial one established by Bottomley. Musial led the NL in triples (18), RBI (131) and batting average (.376). He hit 39 homers, one behind co-leaders Ralph Kiner of the Pirates and Mize of the Giants.