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Archive for the ‘Baseball Records’ Category

In the entire history of baseball before this season, only two men had accomplished the feat of hitting twenty doubles, twenty triples, twenty home-runs, and stealing twenty bases in the same season. Willie Mays and Frank Schulte were the two that achieved these amazing results. But in a single season, this past one, the number of players in the 20-20-20-20 club has doubled.

The main problem in joining this club, naturally, is hitting triples. There are many, many players that can hit twenty home-runs with twenty doubles and still have enough speed to swipe twenty bases. But how many of these players can get the third-base hits necessary? Triples require either extreme speed or extreme luck. Players like Curtis Granderson and Jimmy Rollins, the two new members of this very exclusive club, have the speed to get triples on a consistent basis. But the majority of major leaguers only get three-base hits when their hits take wacky bounces or are misplayed.

And here is the major problem in achieving the quadruple-twenty. Players who have the speed to get enough triples generally do not possess enough power to fill up the stats and vice versa.

So what exactly does joining this club say about Granderson and Rollins? Adding in the fact that both players defend their positions well, we can fairly call them both very good five-tool players. They certainly have shown their ability to hit for power, average, and run well. And their accomplishments this season are mind-boggling from a statistical standpoint, almost more impressive than the high home-run marks of A-Rod and Prince Fielder.

And don’t be surprised to see Curtis Granderson in this club again next year. His youth predicts an increase in skill, rather than the other way around.