Spanning the Bases

I love triples. With the exception of the rare inside-the-park home run, a triple is the most exciting play in baseball.
Last night, Denard Span of the Twins hit three triples in one game against the Tigers. Span now has seven 3-baggers on the season and 24 in his young career. At his current pace, I wouldn't be surprised if he hits in the vicinity of 100 triples for his career.
You would think a guy like Rickey Henderson would have more than 100 triples. He should anyway. With his power and speed he should have been a triple machine. However, he only had 66 career triples. That doesn't sound right but it's true. Rickey had 66 triples in 10,961 career at-bats. The reason Rickey only had 66 triples among his 3,055 hits is because Rickey would rather steal third to pad the stolen base stats instead of taking the triple. By comparison, Span's 24 triples have come in just 1,242 AB's or 9,719 AB's fewer than Rickey.
The record for triples is 309 by Tigers great, Hall of Famer Sam Crawford. He played in an era that was conducive to triples. Not the case in modern day baseball with the dimensions of the new parks. San Francisco's park is a triples haven in right center field but that's about it. The active leader in three-baggers is the Rays Carl Crawford with 98. I guess something about Crawford and triples go together. Basically, it's the older Crawford's record till the end of time.