<P> The term "Triple Crown" is typically used when a player leads one league, such as the American League (AL) or the National League (NL), in the specified categories . A tie for a lead in any category, such as home runs, is sufficient to be considered the leader in that category . A "Major League Triple Crown" may be said to occur when a player leads all of Major League Baseball in all three categories . </P> <P> The term "Triple Crown" generally refers to the batting achievement . A batter who completes a season leading a league in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in (RBI) may be said to have won the "Triple Crown". As the term, unless modified, connotes the batting achievement, it may not be necessary to refer to this as the "batting" Triple Crown . </P> <P> The Triple Crown reflects the ability of a batter to excel in three important ways: to hit safely a high percentage of the time (batting average); to hit the ball long distances (home runs); and to produce when runners are on base, driving them home to score (RBI). It is an uncommon feat to lead all batters in each of these categories . It has been accomplished 17 times, most recently in 2012, by Miguel Cabrera . Cabrera's was the first since 1967, when Carl Yastrzemski accomplished the feat . </P> <P> The most batting Triple Crowns won by a player is two . Rogers Hornsby was the first to accomplish it, winning his first in 1922 and then leading all major leagues in 1925 en route to his second Triple Crown, both with the St. Louis Cardinals . Ted Williams later matched this mark in the AL, winning in 1942 and 1947 with the Boston Red Sox . The Cardinals have won the most batting Triple Crowns as a franchise with four . Along with Hornsby's two, Tip O'Neill won in the now - defunct American Association in 1887 while the team was known as the St. Louis Browns, and Joe Medwick added the Cardinals' fourth in 1937 . Eleven of the thirteen eligible players who have offensive Triple Crowns have been elected to the Hall of Fame . Players are eligible for the Hall of Fame if they have "been retired five seasons" or deceased for at least six months, which means currently active Miguel Cabrera, whose 2012 Triple Crown is the most recent, isn't yet eligible . Baseball writer and ESPN contributor Tim Kurkjian believes the Triple Crown has become more difficult to win with the advent of more hitters who choose to specialize in either hitting for batting average or power . </P>

Who won the last triple crown in baseball