Shohei Ohtani Triple Crown watch: Where the Dodgers star ranks in batting average, home runs and RBI

Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani continues to make headlines. Not only did he recently become the fastest player in MLB history to reach 40 homers and 40 steals in a single season (in gorgeous fashion), But He’s throwing from the mound again He is recovering from elbow surgery.

Let’s add another twist here, because Ohtani has a chance to do something that hasn’t happened since 1937: win the National League Triple Crown.

The Triple Crown means leading the league in the traditional “big three” stats: batting average, home runs and RBI. Ohtani currently leads the league in home runs (by four) and RBI (he’s tied for the lead). His .292 batting average ranks seventh, but it’s within reasonable striking range of the top:

1. Marcell Ozuna, .305
2. Luis Arraez, .303
3. Ketel Marte, .298
4. Trea Turner, .301 (Turner doesn’t have enough at-bats to qualify for the batting title, but if you give him an out for every at-bat he needed to get there, he’d move into fourth place)
5. Alex Bohm, .294
6. Luis Garcia Jr., 293
7. Ohtani, .292

Ohtani had a bit of a rough patch last month, but now he’s hitting .333 in his last five games, so maybe he’s getting back into a rhythm and has a better chance this time around. It should be noted that Ozuna is tied with Ohtani in RBIs and is second in home runs, so he has a chance at the Triple Crown as well.

In major league history, there have been 28 Triple Crown winners:

• Number 1 in the American Association (Tip O’Neill)
• 11 in the Negro Leagues (three for Oscar Charleston and two for Josh Gibson, two of the greatest baseball players to have ever walked the Earth)
• 10 in the American League, including the four most recent (Mickey Mantle in 1956, Frank Robinson in 1966, Carl Yastrzemski in 1967 and Miguel Cabrera in 2012)
• Number 6 in the National League, most recently in 1937 (Hall of Famer Joe “Ducky” Medwick)

In fact, we’re not that far away from the century mark of an N.L. player winning the Triple Crown.

Moving forward, the Dodgers have a relatively weak schedule. In their remaining 31 games, their opponent’s winning percentage is .490 (23rd in MLB). They have six games left against the Rockies, three of which are at Coors Field. They also have three games left against the Marlins and two against the Angels.

It’s fun to keep track of what Ohtani is doing on a daily basis anyway, but the Triple Crown race adds another dimension to it.