Odds Heavily Against Any Player Winning Triple Crown in 2019 MLB Season

• Miguel Cabrera is the only player to win baseball’s Triple Crown since 1967
• JD Martinez and Christian Yelich are emerging as the strongest candidates to join the Triple Crown club
• The difficulty of claiming Triple Crown honors have been demonstrated by baseball greats who fell short of achieving the rare feat

Just one player has won Major League Baseball’s Triple Crown since Frank Robinson and Carl Yastrzemski achieved the rare feat in consecutive seasons over a half-century ago. That trend is expected to continue in 2019, with the odds of the upcoming campaign producing a Triple Crown winner pegged at a lengthy +1000.

Will Any MLB Player Win the Triple Crown During the 2019 Season?

Odds taken 03/15/19

Cabrera the Last Triple Crown Winner

The last player to lead his league in batting average, home runs, and RBI was Miguel Cabrera, who powered the Detroit Tigers to an appearance in the 2012 World Series while producing a .330 average to go along with 44 dingers and 139 RBI.

Cabrera’s epic season once again demonstrated how important it is for Triple Crown contenders to play for a contending team. Each of the past four Triple Crown winners have capped their historic seasons with a trip to the World Series.

Martinez Top AL Threat to Win Triple Crown

JD Martinez came close to joining the exclusive Triple Crown club last season. The Red Sox DH enjoyed a career year, leading the American League with 130 RBI, and finishing second in both home runs with 43, and a .330 batting average, while contributing to Boston’s second World Series title in six years.

J.D. Martinez, Miguel Cabrera’s 2012 Triple Crown, and the .330/50 HR club https://t.co/3pCsVSx9TU via @BostonGlobe

— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) August 13, 2018

With the Red Sox once again perched among the favorites on this season’s World Series odds, and Martinez showing no signs of slowing down, the 31-year-old must be considered among the leading candidates to challenge for a Triple Crown this season.

Martinez enters the final two weeks of Spring Training closely trailing the favorites with +1400 odds of leading the major leagues in home runs, and is pegged as a +1800 bet to claim AL MVP honors this season. However, for Martinez to claim the Triple Crown, he will have to outpace teammate Mookie Betts, who led the Majors last season with a .346 average on his way to his-first-ever AL MVP award.

Yelich Challenged for Triple Crown During Breakthrough 2018 Campaign

Christian Yelich cannot be ignored as a Triple Crown threat in 2019 after his spectacular breakthrough campaign with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2018. The 27-year-old outfielder was a key catalyst in the Brewers’ return to the MLB postseason for the first time since 2011, leading the National League with a .326 average, while finishing the season ranked second with 110 RBI and third in home runs with 36.

BREAKING: Milwaukee #Brewers OF Christian Yelich is named National League Most Valuable Player. He won the NL batting title (.326) and narrowly missed the Triple Crown with 36 homers and 110 RBI. #MLB https://t.co/e6eipI0bMn pic.twitter.com/11mHoopeOE

— SportsCentre (@SportsCentre) November 15, 2018

Baseballs Greats Have Fallen Short in Triple Crown Bids

Martinez and Yelich are just the latest in a long line of sluggers to fall just short of Triple Crown glory since Carl Yastrzemski’s spectacular 1967 campaign.

https://twitter.com/thepopgun/status/1106641488526495744

Willie McCovey, Jim Rice, George Foster, Mike Schmidt, and Barry Bonds are among those who come close to claiming Triple Crown honors by leading in two of the three required batting categories. But with even such greats falling short, it likely remains safe to go with the short -2500 odds of 2019 not producing a Triple Crown winner.