The plaque dedicated to Sanford 'Sandy' Koufax at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New . in double plays turned by a first baseman six times in his career (cover photo: Denver Post) His .688 winning percentage ranks fifth all time. He grades well in baseball-reference.com's Hall of Fame Career Standards. 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. Here are the 25 best hitters in Major League Baseball history. Before that, O'Doul had some great seasons as a left fielder after being converted from a pitcher at the age of 31. He batted .398 that season and led the league with a .465 on-base percentage. He ended his career with a .293 average and 1,977 hits. Franco led the league in saves three times and was a four-time All-Star. Reynolds made five All-Star games and had two top-three MVP finishes. As shown in Table 5, seven former members of the Career .300 Hitters Club finished their major-league careers with .296 batting averages. He won at least 20 games four straight seasons, finished in the top four of the Cy Young voting for three straight years and placed fifth in the AL MVP voting in 1968. The three-time All-Star went 217-191 for his career. Grace batted over .300 nine times and over.295 three more times. He batted over .300 seven times and was known for having fantastic range at shortstop. Despite being just a part-time player over his final five seasons, Staub amassed 2,716 career hits, falling 184 short of 3,000 and a probable place in Cooperstown. Still, he finished his career with a .303 average and six All-Star games. Glasscock got his start during baseball's infancy in 1879 as a shortstop for the Cleveland Blues. Starting in 1953, Pierce made the All-Star game seven out of the next nine years and received MVP votes in five seasons. Dark was a solid player during the post-World War II era in the National League who later went on to become an excellent manager. Be respectful even if you disagree. 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. The two-time World Series winner finished his career with 2,182 hits and two injury-plagued seasons at the end of his career dropped his lifetime average below .300 to .296. All of them are retired from the game, and two are in the Hall of Fame: Frank Thomas and Paul Molitor. McGwire's at-bats were must-watch TV for nearly a decade, and he fully captivated the nation for a summer in 1998. The 1969 Cy Young award winner, Cuellar won 20 games four times and finished his career with 185 wins. In five years, he will enter the Hall of Fame as one of the . The tragedy of Munson is well-known, and his stature as the unquestioned leader of the Yankees made it even more difficult to take. Before getting started on the modern ballplayers, here is a look at nine deserving players from the 1800s who haven't been inducted into the Hall of Fame. Groat was also the 1963 MVP runner-up to Sandy Koufax. Miguel Cabrera leads a group comfortably over .300 And the adage seems to hold true since every player who has 3000 hits and has been eligible for the Hall of Fame has been elected (with the exception of Rafael Palmeiro who has been . Only Johnson won more games in a season since Wood's 34 wins in 1912. He batted .370 in 1993 and hit an NL-best 47 homers and 150 RBI in 1996. For eight straight years he made the AL All-Star team and finished in the top 20 for AL MVP voting. If in doubt, leave it out. Harder spent 20 seasons hurling for the Indians and was at his best in the mid-1930s. Cincinnati Reds star Joey Votto collected career hit No. McGriff was a winning player who fell just shy of 500 home runs, finishing his 19-year career with 493. Yost was also prolific at drawing walks, leading the American League six times in his career. McNally was part of one of the great pitching staffs of all time along with Jim Palmer, Mike Cuellar and Pat Dobson. Maris' lifetime numbers simply don't stack up, as he tailed off dramatically after the age of 29. Although he never reached an elite level, he did stick around to compile some impressive stats. Not for me. He was a key piece in four World Series titles for the Yankees, delivering numerous clutch hits along the way. Heres a look at the 20 most prolific hitters who arent in the Hall of Fame. When Cone was on his game, there were few pitchers with better stuff during his era. Before dying in a plane crash, Munson was the 1970 Rookie of the Year, 1976 AL MVP, a seven-time All-Star and a leader on the 1977 and 1978 Yankees' World Series championship teams. He led the National League in hits in both 1961 and 1963. He made eight straight All-Star games and received MVP votes in each of those years. Career: 24 years (1984-2007) Teams: Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, Houston Astros His career average was .300 and he ranks as the sixth-best first baseman in Florida history in Baseball State by State. Root's best year came in 1927 when he led the NL with 27 wins. 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. Browning compiled a .341 batting average over 13 seasons starting in 1882. He still remains one of the top five home run-hitting catchers of all time. He topped 30 home runs eight years in a row, peaking at 50 in 1995. Garvey was even better in the postseason, holding a .338 average and 11 home runs in 55 games. It is not quite a three-hour drive from Caton to Cooperstown. With such a rich history and so many different eras that exist in stark contrast of each other, baseball lends itself to some great arguments. Best 3 Year Period. Minoso also led the league in "hit by pitch" 10 times, and his 192 plunkings ranks ninth all time. Clark's career trajectory didn't continue on that path, though, as injuries robbed him of hundreds of games in the 1990s. Garvey will likely be a strong Veterans Committee candidate years down the line. McGriff was remarkably consistent, belting 30 home runs in a season 10 times during the steroid era without a whisper of accusation about him. He finished in the top five in Cy Young voting three times, made seven All-Star games and received MVP votes in four seasons. Unlike Barry Bonds or Roger Clemens, people aren't lining up to say that McGwire was a Hall of Fame player before he took steroids. There were two main rules in making this slideshow. 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. McGwire was a 12-time All-Star, finished in the top seven in MVP voting seven times and was the 1987 Rookie of the Year after belting 49 home runs, an MLB-record for rookies. 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. Hes basically a forgotten star at this point. He received MVP votes in eight seasons, finishing in the top 10 in six of those years. Franco holds the record for most game pitched in the National League with 1,119 over his 21-year career. Bill Buckner Only four players who are eligible for the Hall of Fame and not enshrined have more hits than Buckner's. He has increased his totals in each of the past three elections and was up to 48.7 percent in 2012. He collected 3,166 career hits, which included 636 doubles and 477 home runs. Mattingly batted over .300 in each of his first six full seasons, leading the AL in 1984 with a .343 average. He is also one of the few multiple MVP winners who has been left out of Cooperstown. Belle finished his career on a run of nine straight seasons of 100 RBI. For medical advice, always consult your medical doctor. Williams was one of the National League's first great home run hitters. For the kind of player Raines was, that should not keep him out of the Hall of Fame. His best representation on the Hall of Fame ballot came in 1981 when he received 62 votes, which was more than Hall of Famer Bill Mazeroski and just shy of Orlando Cepeda's total. Marty Dobrow | Special to MassLive. That can happen when you play during the same time as Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle, Duke Snider, Roberto Clemente and Frank Robinson. Mullane won 30 games five times. Beltre put up amazing numbers before retiring after the 2018 season. He won 20 games four times, but he also was one of the few post-WWII pitchers to lose 20 in a season. Paul Konerko A sold-out crowd cheers for Paul Konerko of the Chicago White Sox as he is honored during a pre-game ceremony. During his eight seasons in pinstripes, he went 131-60 with a 3.30 ERA. Smith had a long, productive career and while he was never great, he was often very good. 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." However, once Hershiser reached the age of 30, health issues set in and curtailed what could have been a Hall of Fame career. Ferrell pitched 85 complete games over a three-year span in the mid-1930s. Pinson is a somewhat forgotten star of the 1960s Reds and a great bat to have atop the lineup. With Clark in the fold, it's easy to think that another World Series flag, or two, would be flying at Kauffman. There are a lot of players who are on the outside looking in, despite being superior to some players who are already enshrined. Morris is in a race against time and semantics in his quest to make it to Cooperstown. His name showed up in the Mitchell Report, but it came without the hard evidence like shipping receipts or direct accusations that others had. Torre was a nine-time All-Star and the 1971 NL MVP after batting .363 with 230 hits and 137 RBI. Hell be a first-ballot inductee for the 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame class. Guidry turned in one of the great pitching seasons of all time when he went 25-3 in 1978 with a 1.78 ERA. He is best known for his role in one of baseball's greatest tragedies. He had a WHIP under 1.200 an incredible 12 times during his career. Remarkably, he finished with 90 more votes than teammate Duke Snider who would go on to be elected in 1980. Walker batted .357 between 1997 and 2001, leading the National League in batting three of the four years in which he was eligible. While all of those marks were eventually broken, there was no question that at the time of his retirement, he was one of the greatest hitting catchers of all time. In fact, his highest single-season average was just .267, and he once hit .159 in nearly 500 plate appearances. In terms of overall productivity, the sweet spot for the average Hall of Famer is a WAR between 50 and 70. Stephens was one of the top hitting shortstops of the 1940s and received MVP votes for nine straight seasons from 1942 to 1951. Johnson's career numbers were hurt by a late start, as he didn't make his debut until he was 27 years old. Go on to be elected in 1980 led the National League in hits both! A War between 50 and 70 games in the 1990s out of Cooperstown top hitting of. Won 20 games four times and was a winning player who fell just shy of 500 home eight... 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