With Carlos Gonzalez, Albert Pujols, and Joey Votto in a race for the NL Triple Crown, Jon Bois of SB Nation.com counts down the top 10 guys who spoiled potential Triple Crown seasons. The Rockies have two former players take spots on this list: Vinny Castilla (9) and Preston Wilson (8).
Castilla led the NL with 131 RBI in 2004, stopping Albert Pujols and Adrian Beltre from possibly winning the Triple Crown. Bois comments on Castilla:
Is Castilla evil? Well, are villains necessarily completely evil? Perhaps some of them are not. It is not up for debate, after all, that Mr. Freeze adored his wife.
And Rockies fans would say, "Good, Castilla was a lone bright spot during dismal times."
As for Preston Wilson, he was the league leader in RBI in 2003 with 141. He never reached that level of production before or after that season, though 2001's 121 RBI come close. How or why did Wilson do this? Jon Bois also has an answer, sort of:
It was a bitter, cruel attack, and worst of all -- or, perhaps, for the better -- we will never understand Wilson's reasons.
So, is Carlos Gonzalez going to be the cruel villain in this year's chase or will it be, as Bois suggests, All-Star Omar Infante?