With Dee Gordon fading in the batting race, Bryce Harper surging, and Paul Goldschmidt holding steady, the National League finds itself with two players in the top five in batting average, home runs, and RBI. The National League last saw a triple crown winner in 1937 when Joe Medwick of the Cardinals pulled off the feat. Medwick easily won the batting title and RBI crown, but had a close race in home runs, tying Mel Ott with 31.
Right now, Goldschmidt leads Harper by one point in batting average. Harper hit five more home runs, Goldschmidt drove in seven more runs. Harper’s RBI total may be hurt by some of the best hitters on his team being on the disabled list. A better offense gives a player more chances to drive in runs. As it stands right now, Arizona ranks one in scoring and Washington is tied for second. With healthy teams, Goldschmidt and Harper should have plenty of opportunities to drive in runs in the second half.
The race is also helped by Giancarlo Stanton‘s injury. With Stanton out, the competition for home runs and RBI come down to Todd Frazier and Nolan Arenado. Frazier’s power is developing late in his career, so we’ll see if he can hold his home run pace. Arenado is the big threat to both. He plays in a good park for hitters, but hits well on the road. He doesn’t walk, but he doesn’t strike out much, either (Mike Scioscia would love him). All those balls in play sometimes produce RBIs even when he doesn’t get a hit.
As for Goldschmidt versus Harper, it’s a tough call. Goldschmidt, at seasonal age 27, is right at the peak of his career. That’s a great time to post a career year. He plays in a great ballpark for hitters. Harper, at age 22, is realizing his potential. Due to injuries, Harper has yet to play a full season, so this schedule may sap his endurance. Harper’s five home run lead is big, but not insurmountable. I would favor Goldschmidt to win by just a bit, although betting against Harper is not a good idea.
Winning the triple crown is a tough job. Usually there is some specialist who hits or slugs his way to the top of one of the lists without competing for the others. Having two players with the ability to win all three is a real treat.