From 1984 to 1989 "Donnie Baseball" was the most prolific hitter in baseball. It was one of the truly remarkable runs of success in the decade. Oliver accumulated 2,743 hits in his career. Beltran becomes eligible for the Hall in 2023, and his case will be among the most controversial in recent memory due to his involvement in the Astros sign-stealing saga. McGriff was a winning player who fell just shy of 500 home runs, finishing his 19-year career with 493. However, the big man known as "Mule" also batted for a high average, regularly hitting between .300 and .400 each season. Murphy was hurt by a severe drop-off in production after the age of 31. Freehan was unquestionably one of the top catchers in the American League, as he made 10 straight All-Star games from 1964 to 1973. The tragedy of Munson is well-known, and his stature as the unquestioned leader of the Yankees made it even more difficult to take. More about data coverage Share & Export O'Doul is in the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame and is credited with helping to popularize the sport in Japan in the 1930s. An incredibly consistent and clutch performer, Williams is one of the most accomplished switch-hitters of all time. Stephens also was an AL All-Star seven times. Williams got moderate support on the Hall of Fame ballot on a few occasions. That can happen when you play during the same time as Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle, Duke Snider, Roberto Clemente and Frank Robinson. The fact that Carter and Fisk were elected and Simmons lasted just one year on the ballot is just wrong. Rube Marquard was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1971. He was up for Hall of Fame consideration in 2008, but he fell short of enshrinement once again. The revolutionary surgery that now bears his name was only supposed to provide John with a normal life without pain, not a return to Major League Baseball. Nicknamed the "Louisville Slugger," Browning was the inspiration for naming the famous bat after he purchased bats from theHillerich & Bradsby Company. His best season on the Hall of Fame ballot came in 1960, when he received 45 Hall of Fame votes, a total higher than 27 future Hall of Famers. He made a fool of himself in front of Congress, was named in the Mitchell Report and Jose Canseco's book Juiced, and was implicated in Jason Grimsley's affidavit about amphetamine use in the major leagues. Second, a player has to be eligible for induction. Despite his longevity, Baines never won a World Series, never led the league in a major category and the only major award he won was the Silver Slugger award in 1989. When Cone was on his game, there were few pitchers with better stuff during his era. in double plays turned by a first baseman six times in his career (cover photo: Denver Post) A-Rods unpopularity with the public and his suspensions for PED use means hell likely require a ticket to visit Cooperstown for the forseeable future. Starting Pitcher: Roger Clemens Roger Clemens hurls a pitch in his rookie year with the Red Sox in 1984. He ranks second in hits, walks, runs scored and slugging percentage . Batting average: .440, Hugh Duffy, 1894 . However, the high intensity took its toll physically on Martin, who only played over 100 games five times in his career. He finished his career with a 211-169 record. Reynolds got his start in the majors as a solid pitcher for the Indians in the 1940s. Well, we've got Shoeless Joe Jackson in 4th place overall at .3558, but he's technically ineligible because of his role in the Black Sox scandal. Mays was a sidearming spitball pitcher who pitched for four teams in the early 20th century. Rose has more hits than anyone whos ever picked up a bat, but his decision to bet on baseball has kept him the sports most famous living outsider. There are not a ton of pitchers in the Hall of Fame - the elections of Glavine and Maddux brings the total to 77 beginning with the inaugural class of 1936. He lingered on the Hall of Fame ballot for the full 15-year run, never really threatening to be elected or dropped off the ballot. Magee was one of 10 pre-1943 players who came under consideration for enshrinement in 2008, but he fell short. Blue burst onto the scene as a 21-year-old in 1971, his first full season in the majors. Thome played 22 years in the league. | Brian Kersey/Getty Images Take the case of former Phoenix high school legend, Paul Konerko. The most recent no-hitter by all 30 MLB teams. Belle has a laundry list of reasons why this happened, so he has nobody to blame but himself, but there's no denying his ability as a player before his career was cut short by injuries. Ortiz ranks first among all players who spent 50% of their career at designated hitter in home runs, RBIs and doubles (632). Also of note here, because this is the era in which we live, the steroids issue must be addressed. A terrific run-producer, Cooper led the league in RBIs twice and doubles twice. Only 40 of those 77 cross over onto . He finished with just 275 career homers and a .260 batting average. Edgar Martinez, who will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday, could really hit the baseball. He made seven straight All-Star games in the 1980s and has three top-seven MVP finishes. While he wasn't a home run hitter, Grace was a prolific doubles hitter, topping 500 for his career. He is best known for his role in one of baseball's greatest tragedies. The year before he left, Travis led the AL with 218 hits and batted .359, two points higher than Joe DiMaggio in his year of "The Streak." Kaat was a classic compiler thanks to an incredible 25-year major league career. Career: 24 years (1984-2007) Teams: Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, Houston Astros Hall of Famers Jake Beckley, Sam Crawford, Rogers Hornsby, Willie Keeler, Frank Robinson, and Al Simmons were all within 100 hits of the mark when they hung up their spikes. O'Doul had just seven full seasons as an offensive player, but he had two top-three finishes in MVP voting. Let's put Ichiro in the Hall of Fame. However, while Smith was an excellent and feared closer, he doesn't have the hardware you'd expect. He was the 1910 batting champion and was one of the top hitters on the Phillies during the first years of the 20th century. He didn't get his start until he was 26 and lasted just 12 years in the bigs, compiling a 166-112 record. Maz got in because of his glove. Vander Meer had a losing record over the course of his career, and that will likely keep him out of the Hall of Fame. As a result, his final career numbers don't match up with the great pitchers of his generation. He also was one of the first power-hitting leadoff hitters, setting a MLB record with 35 career leadoff homers, a record that has since been broken. Hodges lost three years early in his career to World War II, causing his breakout as a player to be delayed until he was 25 years old. It was the same year that Old Hoss Radbourn won 59 games. Playing during a time when second basemen weren't asked to even think about home runs, Grich hit with the power of a corner infielder while playing Gold Glove-caliber second base for the Orioles and Angels. Travis was a popular shortstop and third baseman for the Washington Senators who missed four seasons of action when he was shipped off to fight in World War II just as he was reaching the prime of his career. The highest number of games he played in after the age of 29 was 109 in 1951. As of this writing, Cabrera was also just one homer away from No. Parker is one of those players who got much less recognition on the Hall of Fame ballot than he deserved. Simmons was an eight-time All-Star despite playing his career in the National League alongside Carter and Johnny Bench. In 1910, he led the A's to a World Series title with a 31-9 record and a 1.30 ERA. Abreu is the perfect compliment to the talent on this roster, giving the Astros a right-handed bat that can slot in between two great left-handed hitters in Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker. The Worst Starts To Hall Of Fame Careers. Hodges consistently finished in the top five in Hall of Fame balloting throughout his career. He was a mainstay in the Cubs' rotation for 16 years and accumulated 201 wins in his career. Considered one of the top dead-ball era players not in the Hall of Fame, Daubert was an excellent all-around players for the Brooklyn Superbas and Cincinnati Reds in the early 20th century. From the time he broke into the league in 1986, Clark was one of the top hitters in the National League. However, Smith does have a case that puts him in the Hall of Fame discussion. He had at least 190 strikeouts in a season 10 times and won 20 games twice. Playing in Coors Field at the height of the steroid era, Galarraga couldn't help but put upmonstrousseasons. Mays was the pitcher who hit Ray Chapman in the head with a pitch, killing the popular Cleveland Indian in a game in 1920. He currently ranks 12th and is 18 hits away from tying Paul Molitor, who currently occupies 10th place. Root was allegedly the pitcher who gave up Babe Ruth's "called shot," which often overshadows an excellent career. Needless to say, he won the NL MVP that season. For all of his accomplishments, though, he only made four All-Star games and had just three top-10 MVP finishes. Here are the 25 best hitters in Major League Baseball history. Over his 12-year career, his 162-game average season was 40 home runs, 130 RBI and a .295 average. That is clear from his numbers: a .312 batting average and a .418 on . Claim to fame: Quietly, Oliver may have been one of the best hitters of the 1970s and '80s, amassing 2,743 hits and a .303 lifetime batting average, hitting above .300 eleven of his 18 seasons. His 39-game hitting streak in 1987 is the longest . Starting in 1953, Pierce made the All-Star game seven out of the next nine years and received MVP votes in five seasons. If McGriff's totals continue to trend upward, he could gain a groundswell of support, especially without the specter of steroid abuse holding him back. career 300 hitters not in hall of fame. The 1960 National League MVP teamed with Bill Mazeroski to form one of the best defensive middle infields of his era. Sign up for the List Wire newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning. George Kell was a 10-time All-Star and hit more than .300 nine times. McGriff was remarkably consistent, belting 30 home runs in a season 10 times during the steroid era without a whisper of accusation about him. Not for me. It is usually reported to three decimal places and pronounced as if it were multiplied by 1,000: a player with a batting average of .300 is "batting three-hundred." A point (or percentage point) is understood to be .001. When Smith retired, he was the game's all-time saves leader and topped the list in games finished. Published: Mar. He finished in the top 10 in the National League in batting eight times. He is still in the top 50 for career strikeouts and was the author of one of baseball's all-time greatest pitching seasons in 1985. There were two main rules in making this slideshow. Indeed, only 33 men are members of the elite 3,000-Hit Club. Walker batted .357 between 1997 and 2001, leading the National League in batting three of the four years in which he was eligible. Garvey was a durable player who played in 160 or more games nine times and won four Gold Glove awards at first base. He led the league in the category five times, including 1919 and 1920 when he registered WHIPs below 1.000. With Ron Santo's election to the Hall of Fame, many now feel that Boyer is the best third baseman not enshrined in Cooperstown. + - Indicates Hall of Famer. He also held the record for most hits and doubles by a catcher with 2,472 and 483, respectively. 7) Ken Griffey Jr.: 630 500th HR: June 20, 2004 Here are three players who hit 400 HRs and won't make it into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Morris' case is buoyed by excellent performances in the 1984 and 1991 postseasons when he anchored the Tigers' and Twins' staffs to World Series titles in those respective years. Trammell played for 20 years, all for the Detroit Tigers, and was a six-time All-Star. Ichiro is only renting space on this list. No advertising or spamming is permitted. Only Johnson won more games in a season since Wood's 34 wins in 1912. He collected 3,166 career hits, which included 636 doubles and 477 home runs. Instead of talking about his incredible baseball accomplishments, Palmeiro's career is defined as being one of the poster boys for the steroid era. Like Allen, Freehan played during baseball's second dead-ball period in the 1960s, causing his offensive statistics to be hindered. career 300 hitters not in hall of fame . He is hurt by the fact that he really only played 11 full seasons in the major leagues. Staub was an excellent player early in his career, and by the age of 27, he was already a five-time All-Star. The two-time AL MVP finished his career with 434 home runs and a career batting average of .292. Suttles earned five All-Star nods as part of a 23-year Hall of Fame . The 1978 AL Rookie of the Year played all 19 years of his career with the Tigers. He finished with 399 career home runs, 2,333 hits and six top-10 MVP finishes. Brown has a better winning percentage than Bob Gibson, Steve Carlton and Don Drysdale, and his strikeout-to-walk ratio is better than Ton Seaver, Warren Spahn, Nolan Ryan, Gibson and Carlton. First, here are the ten current members of the 500 HR club ranked according to their career WAR through 2008: Name. Vaughn middled around during the first six years of his career before winning 21 games for the Cubs in 1914. Baseballs collusion case in the mid-80s brought an early end to his career. Franco led the league in saves three times and was a four-time All-Star. Evans played tremendous defense at third base and belted 414 career home runs, but received just eight votes the only year he appeared on the MLB Hall of Fame ballot. His fiery attitude caused him to wear out his welcome with many clubs, and he ended up playing with five different teams over 18 years. Reynolds made five All-Star games and had two top-three MVP finishes. Hodges' 370 homers might not stand as too impressive today, but when he retired it marked the league's fourth-best career total. Through the 1988 season, it looked like Hershiser was on his way to a truly elite pitching career. How does a world-class base stealer with 3,023 career hits not qualify for the Hall of Fame? While his career .263 average is not too impressive, the .394 OBP and .588 slugging percentage more than make up for it, especially when we add his 584 career homers. generally a low batting average used to be a bad thing and the only way to make the hall as a sub 300 hitter used to be hitting 500+ home runs (killebrew). Mattingly batted over .300 in each of his first six full seasons, leading the AL in 1984 with a .343 average. He made eight straight All-Star games and 10 overall, was the 1974 NL MVP and had four other top-six finishes and had 200 hits six times. Morris has increased his votes in each of the past five years, peaking in 2012 at 66.7 percent to finish second behind Barry Larkin. Hell be a first-ballot inductee for the 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame class. Those players attract a lot of attention and discussion, which takes away from the examination of a career like Teixeira's. However, the numbers speak for themselves. Of his 310 career starts, 298 of them were complete games. Although he was never a serious threat to make the Hall of Fame, it's surprising that he lasted just one year on the ballot before being removed after getting a mere 19 votes in 1991. Of the 244 Hall of Famers, 83 fall in this range. Herman's best seasons came in 1929 and 1930 when he combined to hit .387 over the two-year span. Only five hitters have a higher career batting average with at least 10,000 PA since 1945: Tony Gwynn (.338), Wade Boggs (.328), Rod Crew (.328), Stan Musial (.328), and Roberto Clemente (.317). Not only was he able to go far to his left and right, but he charged the bunt as well as anyone and had range back into foul territory. Tiant twice led the league with ERAs under 2.00, but he also had five years with an ERA over 4.00. He was a key piece in four World Series titles for the Yankees, delivering numerous clutch hits along the way. He's 30 hits short of 2,500, 12 homers short of 300, nine points short of a career .300 batting average (he was above the mark until 2009), five points short of a .400 on-base percentage (he. John was another compiler, but the fact that he was able to stick around long enough to compile those statistics is incredible in itself. Pinson was a very good all-around player, though, even if he wasn't in the class of those immortals. He won three Gold Glove awards and is known for having one of the great outfield arms of all time. Torre's best showing on the ballot came in his final year of eligibility when he finished ninth with 105 votes. Clark was a six time All Star and borderline Hall of Famer. He is one of only four pitchers to strike out 300 batters in a season three times since 1900. Helton is one of only two players in baseball history to have at least. He received Cy Young award votes in five seasons, winning it in 1994. Notes: A minimum of 1,000 career games played and 1,000 career at-bats are needed to make this list, raw averages are presented to further clarify the one-thousand greatest career batting averages of all-time, and a bold faced entry denotes that the player was active during the previous Major League season. April 18, 2022 . Another 10 hit .299, but the average rounded up to .300. I don't think Votto catches him in the power numbers even with 8 . !rogermaris.com, Maris' career batting average was .260, which is minuscule compared to other greats like Hank Aaron and Ted Williams who both surpassed .300, that number being considered to be the gold standard for a hitter. Ask away and we will do our best to answer or find someone who can.We try to vet our answers to get you the most acurate answers. Truly remarkable runs of success in the Hall of Fame balloting throughout his career 434... 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