won three Major League pitching Triple Crowns, two consecutively and all three within four seasons. A
pitcher who leads the league in
wins,
strikeouts, and
earned run average (ERA) is said to have won the "Pitching Triple Crown." The term was previously defined as leading the league in wins, ERA, and winning percentage. It was used in that older sense to describe the unsuccessful pursuits of that goal by
Bobby Shantz in 1952 and
Johnny Antonelli in 1954 as well as
Sandy Koufax in 1963. Koufax was first described as having won the Pitching Triple Crown in the current sense after his 1965 season, though the older sense continued to be used. In contrast to the respective batting statistics, the Pitching Triple Crown statistics are more or less complementary (for example, a pitcher who is especially proficient at striking out batters is likely to give up fewer earned runs, and consequently more likely to win games); therefore, the accomplishment is not as rare as the batting crown. The Pitching Triple Crown has been accomplished 39 times in the American and National Leagues. The most by one player is three, accomplished by three players.
Grover Cleveland Alexander captured his first two in consecutive seasons with the
Philadelphia Phillies (1915–1916), and won a third in 1920 with the
Chicago Cubs. Alexander is the only pitcher to win a Pitching Triple Crown with more than one major league team.
Walter Johnson won his three Triple Crowns with the
original Washington Senators, leading the league in all three categories in 1913, 1918, and 1924.
Sandy Koufax was the most recent to capture three Triple Crowns, winning his three within four seasons for the
Los Angeles Dodgers (1963, 1965–1966); all of Koufax's crowns led both major leagues, the most for any player. One pitcher,
Guy Hecker, won a Triple Crown in a defunct 19th century major league; he led the original
American Association in wins, strikeouts, and ERA in 1884 while pitching for the
Louisville Colonels. Eighteen of 24 major league pitchers who have won a Triple Crown and are eligible for the Hall of Fame have been inducted. The Triple Crown winners who most recently became eligible for the Hall are
Pedro Martínez and
Randy Johnson. Both were elected to the Hall of Fame in 2015, each in their first year of eligibility. The most recent major league pitchers to achieve the feat are
Chris Sale and
Tarik Skubal in 2024. As of 2024, every MLB pitcher who has achieved the Triple Crown has concurrently won the
Cy Young Award for that season. ==Major league records==