The Triple Crown Contenders

About the Book

The Triple Crown Contenders is about baseball's greatest hitters. It is a fair and comprehensive comparison of players from all eras. Unlike other "Baseball's Greatest" books, it relies strictly on the numbers, nor does it try to rank pitchers in with hitters. Fifth place in batting average is the same in 1999 as it was in 1888--it means that only four players in the league had a higher batting average. The placement in each Triple Crown category is the sole criteria used to rank the players. It's a fresh, new way of evaluating the careers of baseball's greatest players. TCC points should become part of serious fans' vocabulary within a couple years, and eventually may become an Official Major League Baseball Statistic. The various lists towards the end of the book confirm what most fans already knew about who were the best pure sluggers and who were the best hitters-for-average. Look for a similar book about pitchers next year.

About the Author

A baseball fan for over thirty years, Robert Minteer decided to take a fresh look at a few of baseball's statistics, in order to have a ranking of baseball's greatest hitters that is strictly by the numbers. The result is The Triple Crown Contenders, which gives equal weight to stats from all of baseball's various eras. He is currently working on a similar book about baseball's pitchers. Born just outside of Pittsburgh, PA, Minteer vaguely remembers a game or two at Forbes Field, and probably saw his boyhood idol, Roberto Clemente, play-without, however, realising the significance of what he was seeing. He played Little League baseball in Pittsburgh, and was a fair third baseman, and came just inches from hitting a home run once. A move to the Baltimore, MD, area at age ten brought new baseball heros-but they never did quite eclipse Clemente. Still, it was quite a thrill to see Jim Palmer pitch a playoff game, and to see the Robinsons and Boog play. The author also played Little League in Catonsville, and once made a Willie Mays-like over-the-shoulder catch in the outfield, and also pitched a couple games. A fantasy had him breaking into the Bigs at age nineteen and getting to pitch against his boyhood idol. But, alas, Clemente died before he turned sixteen. Next came a move to Montana, where there wasn't much baseball to be seen on TV until the coming of Cable. Now there's more than any one person can keep track of. Minteer's wife lived in the Phoenix, AZ, area for thirteen years before moving to Montana. It's been great the past two years to get to see some games on return visits to Arizona, and the author is now a Diamondbacks fan in particular, but is also and always will be a fan of baseball in general. Any game is a good game to watch. Robert Minteer currently resides at 916 W. Babcock St. in Bozeman, MT 59715 and, as mentioned in the book, welcomes comments from readers, and plans to include many of these comments in future editions of The Triple Crown Contenders.