Sports Quiz: Triple Crown Pitchers: 15 Questions | MLB Awards

Answer: Tom Seaver

One would think that a pitcher with a lifetime record of 311 wins, 3,640 strikeouts, and an ERA of 2.86, would be on this list, but not so. Tom Terrific did lead the league in wins, strikeouts, and ERA, just not in the same year. The closest he came was 1975, when he led the NL in wins (22) and K's (243), but finished 3rd in ERA (2.38), behind Randy Jones of San Diego (2.24) and Andy Messersmith of LA (2.29).

The complete list of TC pitchers is as follows: Cy Young, Boston Somersets (Red Sox), 1901; Christy Mathewson, NY Giants, 1905, 1908; Rube Waddell, Philadelphia Athletics, 1905; Walter Johnson, Washington Senators, 1913, 1918, 1924; Grover Alexander, Philadelphia Phillies, 1915, 1916, and Chicago Cubs, 1920; Hippo Vaughn, Chicago Cubs, 1918; Dazzy Vance, Brooklyn Dodgers, 1924; Lefty Grove, Philadelphia Athletics, 1930, 1931; Lefty Gomez, NY Yankees, 1934, 1937; Bucky Walters, Cincinnati Reds, 1939; Bob Feller, Cleveland Indians, 1940; Hal Newhouser, Detroit Tigers, 1945; Sandy Koufax, LA Dodgers, 1963, 1965, 1966; Steve Carlton, Philadelphia Phillies, 1972; Dwight Gooden, NY Mets, 1985; Roger Clemens, Toronto Blue Jays, 1997, 1998; and Pedro Martinez, Boston Red Sox, 1999.

Answer: Pedro Martinez

Pedro won only one TC in the 1900's, that one coming in 1999 when he led the AL with 23 wins, 313 K's, and an amazing 2.09 ERA. The others each won three TC crowns: Johnson in 1913, 1918, and 1924; Alexander in 1915, 1916, and 1920; and Koufax in 1963, 1965, and 1966, his last year in the big leagues before he retired due to arthritis in his pitching (left) elbow.

Answer: Dodgers and Phillies

The Dodgers led the way with 4 TC seasons, one by Dazzy Vance in 1924 (28W, 262K, 2.16 ERA), and three by Sandy Koufax, in 1963 (25, 306, 1.88), 1965 (26, 382, 2.04) and 1966 (27, 317, 1.73). Both Philadelphia clubs have had three TC seasons, as well.

The Phillies with Alexander the Great in 1915 (31, 241, 1.22), 1916 (33, 167, 1.55), and another in 1920. Theh Phillie Steve Carlton in 1972 (27, 310, 1.97), and the A's with Rube Waddell in 1905 (26, 287, 1.48) and Lefty Grove in 1930 (28, 209, 2.54) and 1931 (31, 175, 2.06).

The Cubbies made the list twice, with Hippo Vaughn in 1918 (22, 148, 1.74) and Alexander in 1920 (27, 173, 1.91).

Answer: 19

Roger "Rocket" Clemens tied the Texas Rangers' Rick Helling for the AL lead in 1998, to go along with his league-leading 271 K's and 2.65 ERA. Lefty Gomez won 21 games in 1937 for the Yankees.

Answer: True

Of the 17 pitchers to win the Triple Crown, 10 were righties (Young, Mathewson, Johnson, Alexander, Vance, Walters, Feller, Gooden, Clemens, and Martinez). Seven were southpaws (Waddell, Vaughn, Grove, Gomez, Newhouser, Koufax, and Carlton).

Answer: Lefty Grove

Grove won 31 games for Connie Mack's A's in 1931. While both McLain and Dean won 30 games, neither are members of the TC club.

Answer: False

While it is true that the Giants and A's faced off in the 1905 Fall Classic, Mathewson and Waddell never took the mound in the same game. Rube had hurt his arm in a late season scuffle with teammate and fellow pitcher Andy Coakley, and was out for the rest of the season, including the World Series. Matty went 3-0 against the Rube-less A's in the Series, posting an ERA of 0.00, and striking out 18 against only one walk.

The cause of the fight between Waddell and Coakley? Coakley had a new straw hat that Rube found to be somewhat on the silly side and he let Coakley know. Andy didn't take too kindly to the derision of his hat, and in the ensuing scuffle, fell on Rube's left (pitching) arm.

Answer: 2.72

The highest ERA for a TC pitcher was Walter Johnson's 2.72 in 1924. Ironically, the Big Train also had the lowest ERA for a TC pitcher, when he paced the AL in 1913 with an ERA of 1.09.

Answer: 2

Only twice has a pitcher led his league in wins, strikeouts, and ERA, while pitching for a team with a sub .500 record. Grover Alexander won the TC in 1920 (27, 173, 1.91) while pitching for the 75-79 Chicago Cubs, who finished 5th. Steve Carlton turned in a remarkable 27 wins, 310 strikeouts, and a 1.97 ERA, for the 1972 Phillies, who finished last in the NL East with an abysmal 59-97 season.

Answer: Grover Alexander

Named after the only U.S. President to serve two non-consecutive terms, Pete won the TC twice for the Philadelphia Phillies and once for the Cubbies. The others listed won the TC only once.

Answer: 6

Six times a TC pitcher had been on a World Series winner. Christy Mathewson in 1905 with the Boston Somersets (Red Sox); Walter Johnson's 1924 Washington Senators; Lefty Grove's 1930 Philadelphia A's; Lefty Gomez's 1937 New York Yankees; Hal Newhouser's 1945 Detroit Tigers; and the only pitcher to win a TC and a World Championship in the same year twice, Sandy Koufax, with the 1963 and 1965 Los Angeles Dodgers. Also six times a TC winner had led his team to the Series, only to lose: Rube Waddell (1905, Philadelphia A's}, Grover Alexander (1915, Philadelphia Phillies), Hippo Vaughn (1918, Chicago Cubs), Lefty Grove (1931, Philadelphia A's), Bucky Walters (1939, Cincinnati Reds), and Sandy Koufax (1966, Los Angeles Dodgers).

Answer: False

But almost true. Of the 17 pitchers at the turn of the century, only Dwight Gooden, Bucky Walters, Hippo Vaughn, Roger Clemens, and Pedro Martinez are not enshrined at Cooperstown.

Answer: Sandy Koufax

Born Sanford Braun in 1935 in Brooklyn, NY, Koufax, a 3-time TC winner, averaged 26 wins, 335 K's and a 1.88 ERA, for the years 1963, '65, and '66. Carlton and Martinez were one-time TC winners.

Answer: Steve Carlton

Lefty's total of 27 wins accounted for an astounding 45.7% of the Phillies wins in 1972, as they were a pathetic 59-97. Next on the list is Cy Young, whose 33 wins were 41.7% of Boston's wins in 1905, Walter Johnson, whose 36 wins accounted for 40% of Washington's wins in 1913, and Grover Alexander, whose 27 victories accounted for 36.2% of the Cubs' wins in 1920.

Answer: 4

Alexander with the Phillies in 1915 and 1916; Grove with A's in 1930 and 1931; Koufax with the Dodgers in 1965 and 1966; and Clemens with the Blue Jays in 1997 and 1998, are the only pitchers to win back-to-back TC crowns. Had injuries not limited Koufax to only 29 games in 1964, it's highly conceivable that he might have won 4 straight TC crowns, as he led the NL in ERA with 1.74, but finished fourth in strikeouts (223 to Bob Veale's 250), and wins (19 to Larry Jackson's 24).