Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers exploded Tuesday night, hitting four two-run home runs. He becomes the 16th player in baseball history to accomplish the feat.
Hamilton's 5-for-5 night boosted his already strong batting average to a robust .406, and he has now compiled 36 RBI and 25 runs scored.
With 14 home runs, Hamilton has now taken over the major league lead from Matt Kemp (12), who has not homered since April 30 against the Colorado Rockies.
Kemp and Hamilton are currently dominating their respective leagues, and each has a legitimate shot at winning the Triple Crown.
The Triple Crown is obviously very difficult to achieve, as it has not been accomplished since 1967 when Carl Yastrzemski hit .326 with 44 homers and 121 RBI.
Hamilton currently leads the AL with a .406 average, 14 homers and 36 RBI. If the season ended today, he'd win the Triple Crown.
Kemp, on the other hand, leads the NL with a .406 average and 12 home runs, but he is currently second in the league in RBI with 27—teammate Andre Ethier has compiled 30 RBI.
Although Kemp doesn't currently have the lead in RBI, he has a better chance than Hamilton at winning the Triple Crown.
The American League has much better competition than the National League.
While Hamilton may end up with the most RBI, Miguel Cabrera, Adrian Gonzalez, Jose Bautista and teammate Michael Young all have the capability of producing high batting averages.
Bautista will also challenge Hamilton for the home run title, even though he has started the season in a bit of a slump.
Kemp's real competition in the three categories is Ryan Braun.
Kemp beat Braun in the NL MVP race last season and topped him in both home runs (39 to 33) and RBI (126 to 111).
Braun had the edge in batting average, though (.332 to .324).
Hamilton's injury history could also play a factor in his ability to win the Triple Crown, as any time he misses due to injury will severely hurt his chances.
He has not played in 150 games since 2008 with the Rangers when he played 156, and his next best mark was 133 in 2010.
In the end, both superstars will put together strong seasons. Each player will be in the running for their respective league's MVP award, but Kemp most definitely has the better chance of winning the prestigious Triple Crown.
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