In 1990, three years before the Marlins and Rockies joined the league, Opening Day was pushed back a week due to yet another gripe between the owners and players. For those in the known, this shutdown was the 7th since 1972, after decades of consistent play without a significant lapse. All of a sudden, it was just as common for the audience to have to sit through a strike, whether minor or major, as it was for them to experience a Triple Crown winner in the American League. Since runs batted in became an official statistic in 1920, there had been seven seasons in which a player led the league in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in, in the same year: Jimmie Foxx (1933), Lou Gehrig (1934), Ted Williams (1942), Ted Williams (1947), Mickey Mantle (1956), Frank Robinson (1966), and Carl Yastrzemski (1967). Seven Triple Crown winners in the AL, and seven strikes.
Cobb and the Pill
