Gary Sanchez Hates Triples (or Everything You Could Ever Want To Know About Players That Don’t Hit Very Many Triples)
Gary Sanchez is pretty great. Even though he’s not hitting up to his usual standards this year (.194/.294/.440), he’s still unquestionably one of the top catchers in baseball. He’s posted 1.3 fWAR so far, 5th best in the majors, despite the low batting average. Since bursting in as the starting catcher in August 2016, he’s amassed 8.9 fWAR- more than any backstop.
However, there’s one thing he can’t do, apparently. Through 1004 PA, he has never hit a triple. Not even one! He’s smashed 66 HR, 46 2B, and 121 1B, but never as a major leaguer has he gone from the batter’s box directly to third base.
That’s an impressive triple-drought to start his career. In fact, 1004 PA is the 10th most ever by a player with no triples. (The record is 2244 by Johnny Estrada.) But if you measure players by fWAR, (and I do!) there’s no contest: Gary Sanchez is the best player in baseball history with zero triples.
Here’s the fWAR leaderboard among players with no triples.
| Name | G | PA | WAR | 3B |
| Gary Sanchez | 236 | 1004 | 8.8 | 0 |
| Ramon Castro | 567 | 1603 | 5.6 | 0 |
| Earl Averill | 449 | 1217 | 4.4 | 0 |
| Domingo Santana | 346 | 1302 | 3.7 | 0 |
(No, that’s not Earl Averill the Hall of Famer. It’s Earl Averill Jr., the backup catcher. Senior Averill actually led the AL in triples in 1936.)
When Will Sanchez Triple?
Sanchez is more than 3 wins better than any other triple-free player ever. He’s just 25-years-old, and presumably has a long career ahead of him. More than likely, he’ll depose himself from this list by smashing a three-bagger sooner or later. He did hit 3 triples in the minor leagues.
Unsurprisingly, catchers don’t hit triples very often. Triples usually require speed, and that is an attribute catchers rarely possess. That being said, Sanchez should have hit at least one by now. In 2018, catchers across MLB have combined for 23 triples in 9301 PA. That’s a 0.25% 3B-rate.
Sanchez has come to the plate 248 times for the Yankees this year. At a rate of 0.25%, he should’ve had 0.6 triples. Of course, there’s no such thing as a fraction of a triple, but a catcher with 248 PA should’ve been more likely to have a triple than not. Furthermore, at that rate he should’ve had 2.5 triples in his 1004 PA career. In fact, he probably should’ve had even more considering that he hits the ball harder than probably any other catcher.
If he stays healthy and productive, Sanchez probably has at least 4000 more PA ahead of him in his career. He’s expected to hit 10 triples during that time. There’s no telling when it will happen, but he’ll almost definitely get there eventually.
The Anti-Triple Leaders
Sanchez is the best player ever without a triple (for now), but that doesn’t mean he’s the most triple-averse player ever. After all, he’s still only 25. Still, the fact that he’s accumulated nearly 9 fWAR without a triple is pretty incredible.
Despite his lack of triples, other players have collected even more fWAR between three-base hits. And the record for most fWAR per triple goes to…
| Name | PA | WAR | 3B | WAR/3B |
| Welington Castillo | 2392 | 13.2 | 1 | 13.2 |
| Chris Hoiles | 3339 | 24.8 | 2 | 12.4 |
| Wilson Ramos | 2763 | 11.7 | 1 | 11.7 |
| Mark McGwire | 7660 | 66.3 | 6 | 11.05 |
| Victor Martinez | 7908 | 29.1 | 3 | 9.7 |
| Ryan Hanigan | 2269 | 9.0 | 1 | 9 |
| Mike Piazza | 7745 | 63.7 | 8 | 7.9625 |
Congratulations, Welington Castillo! In the 6th inning of a Diamondbacks-Phillies game on August 10, 2015, Arizona’s Castillo hit a bases loaded triple off Justin De Fratus. It’s the only triple he’s ever hit in his nine-year career, in which he’s amassed 13.2 fWAR. That places him comfortably ahead of former Oriole Chris Hoiles in the fWAR/3B record books.
Naturally, everyone on this list is a catcher except McGwire. I guess Big Mac found little use for triples since he hit 583 HR. Six players have higher fWAR/3B than Sanchez has total fWAR (for now), though a few of them are still active. Piazza has the highest fWAR/3B of any Hall of Famer. Interestingly, he hit at least one triple for every team he played for. This includes the Marlins, who employed him for only five games!
One of these days, Sanchez will hit a line drive in the gap. Some outfielder will run in and try to cut it off, but fail to do so. The ball will roll to the wall, and Sanchez will find himself on third base. When that day comes, he’ll no longer be the greatest player ever sans triple. Until then, he remains on top of the leaderboard.
-Daniel R. Epstein
