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After signing a contract worth 125 million dollars over 5 years, Josh Hamilton is set to join both Mike Trout and Albert Pujols in the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim lineup in 2013. Hamilton has been reliably one of the best hitters in baseball over the past few seasons, with injuries keeping him from posting some truly historic numbers in that time.
The signing comes with Hamilton just two years removed from a fantastic 8 WAR MVP season, and he'll join Mike Trout, proud owner of an unearthly 10 WAR rookie season last year, and Albert Pujols, the greatest hitter of the generation. This trio of immense talent is sure to be one of the better offensive threesomes in the game next season, and if everything goes according to plan, perhaps even one of the best in recent history.
Just how well would Hamilton, Pujols, and Trout have to perform to rate as one of the better positional trios since the turn of the century? Here's a look at the top ten:
Best Positional Player Trios Since 2000 by WAR
| Team | Year | Total WAR | Name | WAR | Name | WAR | Name | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STL | 2004 | 24.2 | Albert Pujols | 8.3 | Jim Edmonds | 7 | Scott Rolen | 8.9 |
| SFG | 2001 | 23.1 | Barry Bonds | 11.6 | Rich Aurilia | 6.5 | Jeff Kent | 5 |
| BOS | 2011 | 22.5 | Adrian Gonzalez | 6.7 | Jacoby Ellsbury | 8 | Dustin Pedroia | 7.8 |
| ATL | 2003 | 20.9 | Gary Sheffield | 6.6 | Javy Lopez | 6.6 | Marcus Giles | 7.7 |
| TBR | 2009 | 20.9 | Ben Zobrist | 8.3 | Evan Longoria | 6.7 | Jason Bartlett | 5.9 |
| SEA | 2001 | 20.8 | Bret Boone | 8.5 | John Olerud | 4.8 | Ichiro Suzuki | 7.5 |
| LAA | 2012 | 20.8 | Mike Trout | 10.7 | Albert Pujols | 4.6 | Torii Hunter | 5.5 |
| SEA | 2001 | 20.5 | Bret Boone | 8.5 | Edgar Martinez | 4.5 | Ichiro Suzuki | 7.5 |
| DET | 2007 | 20.0 | Magglio Ordonez | 6.9 | Curtis Granderson | 7.2 | Placido Polanco | 5.9 |
| ANA | 2000 | 19.8 | Troy Glaus | 7.5 | Darin Erstad | 8.2 | Tim Salmon | 4.1 |
As it turns out, the Angels had one of the better combinations of positional players just last year with Torii Hunter and his 5.5 WAR teaming up with Pujols and Trout. Pujols was also involved in the best of these trios, alongside Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen as a part of the 2004 National League Champion St. Louis Cardinals. It shouldn't be too surprising that any of the Bonds-Kent combos from the early 2000's showed up on the list, but I'm fascinated by how quickly I had forgotten about the Sheffield/Lopez/Giles trio from the Braves in 2003. The Ellsbury/A-Gon/Pedroia combo from 2011 represents the second most recent trio, with career years from all three Red Sox.
If we're looking to quantify the best trio of purely hitters in a lineup since 2000 we can switch the query to Baseball-Reference's batting runs above average:
Best Hitting Trios since 2000 by Batting Runs
| Team | Year | Total bRuns | Name | bRuns | Name | bRuns | Name | bRuns |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFG | 2001 | 184.1 | Barry Bonds | 115.8 | Rich Aurilia | 39.5 | Jeff Kent | 28.8 |
| SFG | 2000 | 165.1 | Barry Bonds | 62.1 | Jeff Kent | 57.8 | Ellis Burks | 45.2 |
| STL | 2004 | 161.6 | Albert Pujols | 69.3 | Jim Edmonds | 52.1 | Scott Rolen | 40.2 |
| NYY | 2005 | 143.9 | Alex Rodriguez | 65.9 | Jason Giambi | 43.5 | Gary Sheffield | 34.5 |
| STL | 2003 | 142.4 | Albert Pujols | 73.4 | Jim Edmonds | 36.9 | Scott Rolen | 32.1 |
| NYY | 2005 | 140.1 | Alex Rodriguez | 65.9 | Jason Giambi | 43.5 | Derek Jeter | 30.7 |
| STL | 2003 | 136.5 | Albert Pujols | 73.4 | Jim Edmonds | 36.9 | Edgar Renteria | 26.2 |
| NYY | 2007 | 135.8 | Alex Rodriguez | 64.8 | Jorge Posada | 41.5 | Derek Jeter | 29.5 |
| NYY | 2005 | 134.1 | Alex Rodriguez | 65.9 | Jason Giambi | 43.5 | Hideki Matsui | 24.7 |
| STL | 2003 | 131.7 | Albert Pujols | 73.4 | Scott Rolen | 32.1 | Edgar Renteria | 26.2 |
The 2001 Giants weren't so much of a powerful trio as a one-man show that season, with Barry Bonds accounting for over 60% of the the trio's contributions. The 2000 Giants, however, with Ellis Burks instead of Rich Aurilla, provide us with a more 'pure' example of a triple threat with batting run totals of 62, 58 and 45 coming from seperate spots in the lineup. We again see the Pujols/Edmonds/Rolen combination from both 2004 and 2005.
Three different versions of the 2005 Yankees make the list, a testament to the frighting offensive power the team displayed that season. Behind A-Rod (65.9) and Giambi (43.5), the Yankees also boasted strong numbers from Gary Sheffield (34.5), Derek Jeter (30.7) and Hideki Matsui (24.7).
If you want to get an idea of how well these recent trios stack up to some of the more potent in all of baseball history, you may want to get used to seeing the same few names over and over again. The Ruth/Gehrig/John Doe combinations of the late '20s and early '30's own every spot in the top ten except one.
Best Hitting Trios since 1900 by Batting Runs
| Team | Year | Total bRuns | Name | bRuns | Name | bRuns | Name | bRuns |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NYY | 1927 | 243.9 | Lou Gehrig | 102.7 | Babe Ruth | 101.6 | Earle Combs | 39.6 |
| NYY | 1930 | 231.9 | Babe Ruth | 97.5 | Lou Gehrig | 95.3 | Earle Combs | 39.1 |
| NYY | 1927 | 228.7 | Lou Gehrig | 102.7 | Babe Ruth | 101.6 | Bob Meusel | 24.4 |
| NYY | 1931 | 212.4 | Babe Ruth | 96.8 | Lou Gehrig | 85.1 | Ben Chapman | 30.5 |
| NYY | 1931 | 205.5 | Babe Ruth | 96.8 | Lou Gehrig | 85.1 | Earle Combs | 23.6 |
| NYY | 1928 | 187.5 | Babe Ruth | 85 | Lou Gehrig | 77.4 | Tony Lazzeri | 25.1 |
| NYY | 1928 | 185.8 | Babe Ruth | 85 | Lou Gehrig | 77.4 | Earle Combs | 23.4 |
| SFG | 2001 | 184.1 | Barry Bonds | 115.8 | Rich Aurilia | 39.5 | Jeff Kent | 28.8 |
| NYY | 1932 | 180.0 | Babe Ruth | 75.5 | Lou Gehrig | 74.9 | Tony Lazzeri | 29.6 |
| NYY | 1932 | 179.4 | Babe Ruth | 75.5 | Lou Gehrig | 74.9 | Earle Combs | 29 |
Only the Bonds/Kent/Aurilla trifecta from 2001 prevents a clean sweep of the top ten from Ruth and Gehrig and co. Year after year New Yorkers witnessed two of the greatest hitters destroy pitching staffs together, but is often forgotten how well the other members of Murderer's Row helped in that destructon. Earle Combs, Bob Meusel, Ben Chapman, and Tony Lazzeri all contributed at least 25 batting runs above average at one time or another during that stretch.
If we query for the best positional players since 1900, demanding both defensive value and positional value from our trios, we see that the Ruth-Gehrig attack still reigns supreme over the rest of baseball history, but their dominance is no longer invincible. Ruth and Gehrig again take the top 2 slots with their 1927 season, but a young trio from Seattle in 1996 steals the #3 slot from the Bronx Bombers:
Best Positional Player Trios since 1900
| Team | Year | Total WAR | Name | WAR | Name | WAR | Name | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NYY | 1927 | 30.3 | Lou Gehrig | 11.5 | Babe Ruth | 12.1 | Earle Combs | 6.7 |
| NYY | 1927 | 27.4 | Lou Gehrig | 11.5 | Babe Ruth | 12.1 | Bob Meusel | 3.8 |
| SEA | 1996 | 25.0 | Edgar Martinez | 6.3 | Alex Rodriguez | 9.2 | Ken Griffey | 9.5 |
| DET | 1961 | 24.5 | Norm Cash | 8.9 | Rocky Colavito | 7.4 | Al Kaline | 8.2 |
| NYY | 1931 | 24.3 | Babe Ruth | 10 | Lou Gehrig | 8.6 | Ben Chapman | 5.7 |
| STL | 2004 | 24.2 | Albert Pujols | 8.3 | Jim Edmonds | 7 | Scott Rolen | 8.9 |
| NYY | 1930 | 24.1 | Babe Ruth | 10 | Lou Gehrig | 9.2 | Earle Combs | 4.9 |
| CIN | 1972 | 23.9 | Joe Morgan | 9.3 | Johnny Bench | 8.5 | Pete Rose | 6.1 |
| NYY | 1928 | 23.2 | Babe Ruth | 9.8 | Lou Gehrig | 9 | Tony Lazzeri | 4.4 |
| NYY | 1928 | 23.1 | Babe Ruth | 9.8 | Lou Gehrig | 9 | Earle Combs | 4.3 |
Norm Cash showed up in last week's greatest #5 hitters post, and his same efforts in that 1961 season help his team claim the #4 spot here alongside Rocky Colavito and Al Kaline. We also see that historic combination of Pujols/Edmonds/Rolen make the list again at #6, just ahead of the 1930 Yankees and three of the more outstanding members of 1972's Big Red Machine.
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