Starting in 1953, Pierce made the All-Star game seven out of the next nine years and received MVP votes in five seasons. Evans was an outstanding all-around right fielder who possessed one of the game's greatest throwing arms. 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 1969 Cy Young award winner, Cuellar won 20 games four times and finished his career with 185 wins. Glasscock got his start during baseball's infancy in 1879 as a shortstop for the Cleveland Blues. He was up for Hall of Fame consideration in 2008, but he fell short of enshrinement once again. Parker was not only a feared hitter who won two batting titles, but he was also one of the top defensive outfielders in the game. The highest batting average for an ELIGIBLE player is Lefty O'Doul, 6th place overall, at .3493. Colavito topped 30 homers seven times, including a league-leading 42 in 1959. A seven-time All-Star between 1966-82, Smith has nonetheless become an unfairly overlooked player, receiving almost no Hall of Fame consideration despite roughly 65 career WAR. Discussion of suicide or self-harm is not tolerated and will result in an immediate ban. "Indian Bob" is one of the great underrated players of the 1930s and 1940s, lost in the shuffle of playing at the same time as Joe DiMaggio, Jimmie Foxx, Mel Ott, Lou Gehrig and Hank Greenberg. The 3,000-hit club is the group of 33 batters who have collected 3,000 or more regular-season hits in their careers in Major League Baseball (MLB), achieving a milestone "long considered the greatest measure of superior bat handling" and often described as a guarantee of eventual entry into the Baseball Hall of Fame.. Cap Anson was the first to do so, although his precise career hit total is . His numbers are at least equal to Hall of Fame peers Jim Rice and Andre Dawson, and his character on and off the field is exemplary. He finished fifth in the AL MVP voting on three separate occasions. He topped 30 home runs eight years in a row, peaking at 50 in 1995. Still, he finished his career with a .303 average and six All-Star games. McInnis was a fine defender who set numerous fielding records as a first baseman. Browning compiled a .341 batting average over 13 seasons starting in 1882. Hodges' case for the Hall of Fame is interesting because he is a player whose value went beyond the numbers he put up. Lofton was a 6-time all-star and a 4-time gold glove award winner who finished his career with nearly 2500 hits, over 1500 runs scored and 622 stolen bases. career 300 hitters not in hall of fame. He had six 200-hit seasons and finished his 19-year career with a .294 lifetime average. When Smith retired, he was the game's all-time saves leader and topped the list in games finished. Maris was considered a power show more content Staub may have cost himself an enshrinement when he chose to return to the Mets to mentor young players in a part-time role rather than seeking full-time work elsewhere late in his career. Here are the best Hall of Fame candidates at each position. . He finished with 2,445 career hits and a career .303 average. From 1984 to 1989 "Donnie Baseball" was the most prolific hitter in baseball. However, once he got to the Yankees in 1947 his career took off. 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. Williams got moderate support on the Hall of Fame ballot on a few occasions. 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. Reaching 3,000 hits, in our opinion, is a benchmark of true greatness that few will ever achieve. In 1971, he finished fourth with 180 votes, better than 12 future Hall of Famers. Baseball statistics List of lifetime MLB hit leaders through history List of Major League Baseball players with 4,000 Total bases List of Major League Baseball players with 400 doubles List of Major League . He was a four-time All-Star and received MVP votes in eight consecutive seasons from 1938 to 1945. Simmons was an eight-time All-Star despite playing his career in the National League alongside Carter and Johnny Bench. Some will be coming off this list soon. His peak came in 1967 when he finished with 29 percent of the vote, ahead of 10 future Hall of Famers, including pitchers Hal Newhouser and Bob Lemon. However, once Hershiser reached the age of 30, health issues set in and curtailed what could have been a Hall of Fame career. Raines' candidacy has been gaining momentum in the past few seasons, and it seems that one day he will take his place in Cooperstown. As a result, his final career numbers don't match up with the great pitchers of his generation. Almost every eligible candidate who had a career .300 batting average, 2,500 hits and 300 home runs has been enshrined. He also won five Gold Gloves, had two top-three MVP finishes and ended his career with 200 home runs, when that meant something as a catcher. His support waned from there, though. There just is no way to pick and choose who definitely did use steroids, who didn't and just what kind of impact they had on their play. Smith had a long, productive career and while he was never great, he was often very good. Parker is one of those players who got much less recognition on the Hall of Fame ballot than he deserved. Arguably the second-best leadoff hitter of all time, Raines' stats have gained morecredenceas on-base percentage becomes a more valued statistic. 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. Sain was robbed of three prime years when he served in World War II, contributing to a short peak as a star pitcher. Richardson was a clutch World Series player and still remains the only player from a losing team to win the World Series MVP. 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. While he wasn't a superstar on the level of contemporaries like George Brett or Mike Schmidt, he wasn't far off from players like Jim Rice and Andre Dawson. 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. Baseballs collusion case in the mid-80s brought an early end to his career. He retired early at the age of 36, and if he hung on as long as some of his more accomplished outfield peers, he could have easily gotten to 3,000 hits. Bagwell's numbers are there, and he passes the eye test as a dominant player in his era, but the cloud of steroids has kept him out so far, right or wrong. He topped 20 wins for the Browns in four consecutive seasons, maxing out at a league-leading 27 wins in 1921. From 1988 to 1993, he batted .234 and averaged just 15 homers a season. Bridges was a fine pitcher for the Tigers starting in 1930 and running right up until he was called into service for World War II in 1944. Sure, it was a different era, but those are some incredible numbers. He consistently finished in the top 10 for Hall of Fame voting, but he never cracked the 30 percent barrier. The 1985 AL MVP was a prolific run-producer for the Yankees until a bad back sabotaged his power and longevity. Schuerholz also scored . Negative racial/anti-Semitic, or religious stereotypes are prohibited. Like Allen, Freehan played during baseball's second dead-ball period in the 1960s, causing his offensive statistics to be hindered. Oliver bounced around on seven different teams during his career, but wherever he went, he flat out hit. Vizquel had a borderline Hall of Fame case, but thats gone after the sexual harassment and domestic abuse allegations that have been recently leveled against him. 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. A young and promising Derringer was traded from the Cardinals to the Reds in 1932 for Hall of Famer Leo Durocher, and he would go on to become one of the great Reds pitchers of all time. As Freehan's career was ending, catchers like Johnny Bench, Carlton Fisk and Gary Carter ushered in a new era of catcher. White was the first-ever batter in National Association history. His 466 complete games ranks 11th all time. Randolph made the All-Star game as a second baseman for the Yankees five times during his careerno small feat while playing in the same league as Lou Whitaker, Frank White and Bobby Grich. His play on the field, though, is worthy of enshrinement. Franco holds the record for most game pitched in the National League with 1,119 over his 21-year career. Heres a look at the 20 most prolific hitters who arent in the Hall of Fame. However, the high intensity took its toll physically on Martin, who only played over 100 games five times in his career. He was a mainstay in the Cubs' rotation for 16 years and accumulated 201 wins in his career. Everyone has their own opinion. Its taken him a bit to reach both the magic numbers of 3,000 and 500, but he seems determined to get there. His vote total was better than 12 players who eventually would be enshrined, including legendary players like Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons, Lefty Grove and Gabby Hartnett. After his playing career ended Buck became a scout for the Cubs, signing Lou Brock for the team. He received 11 and 12 percent of the Hall of Fame votes thus far in his candidacy. Cross was a deadball era standout from 1887 to 1907, who played most of his career in Philadelphia. Ortiz ranks first among all players who spent 50% of their career at designated hitter in home runs, RBIs and doubles (632). He currently ranks 12th and is 18 hits away from tying Paul Molitor, who currently occupies 10th place. Morris' best argument for enshrinement may be that he was the American League's winningest pitcher of the 1980s and the respected staff ace for a lengthy period of time. The list includes everyone from John Kruk, a 10-year veteran who hit .302, to Tigers legend Ty Cobb, who hit an MLB-record .366. The 3,000 Hits Club is a collection of Major League Baseball players who have recorded 3,000 or more regular-season hits during their big league career. 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'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. He made eight straight All-Star games and received MVP votes in each of those years. How does a world-class base stealer with 3,023 career hits not qualify for the Hall of Fame? Clark's career trajectory didn't continue on that path, though, as injuries robbed him of hundreds of games in the 1990s. Only four players who are eligible for the Hall of Fame and not enshrined have more hits than Buckner's 2,715. He will earn a salary of $32 million for the 2023 season, the Tigers will buy out his 2024 option for $8 million, and he will retire. He led the AL in doubles three times, RBI once, hits twice and OPS once. The 1945 NL MVP, Cavarretta played more seasons with the Cubs than anybody in the 20th century. Pierce is a tremendously underrated pitcher who hurled mostly for the White Sox over an 18-year, post-WWII career. He received 55 votes in the 2012 Hall of Fame voting, his first year on the ballot. He won just 43 games over his final seven seasons. Arguably the greatest fielding pitcher of all time, Kaat won 16 Gold Gloves, the most at any position until he was topped by Greg Maddux, who won 18. The total was higher than Orlando Cepeda, Ron Santo and Bill Mazeroski. Walker was a phenomenal all-around player, and for a five-year period during the peak of the steroid era, Walker had some of the best seasons the game had seen. Belle had three straight top-three finishes in the MVP voting, including a second-place finish in 1995 when he was far superior to that year's winner, Mo Vaughn. However, as we'll see, he was an underrated performer as an offensive player. Even though he hasn't played a Major League game in 109 years, Van Haltren still holds the National League record for reaching base in 60 straight games, accomplishing the feat in 1893. However, the big man known as "Mule" also batted for a high average, regularly hitting between .300 and .400 each season. Suttles earned five All-Star nods as part of a 23-year Hall of Fame . A number of baseball's best hitters have come close to garnering 3,000 base hits over their major league careers. Gonzalez racked up his total over 19 seasonas and 10,531 major league plate appearances and led the. The three-time All-Star went 217-191 for his career. Be respectful even if you disagree. His .688 winning percentage ranks fifth all time. This is the first story in a three-part series about . . 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. No advertising or spamming is permitted. Career: 24 years (1984-2007) Teams: Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, Houston Astros The 1960 National League MVP teamed with Bill Mazeroski to form one of the best defensive middle infields of his era. McGriff has been on the Hall of Fame ballot for three seasons and saw decent support in 2012, garnering 23.9 percent of the vote, his highest total. McInnis received eight votes for the Hall of Fame in the 1949 balloting, more than 23 other players that year who were eventually elected to the Hall. 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. His 288 home runs ranked eighth in MLB history at the time of his retirement. Sain received support for the Hall of Fame in 1975 when he received 123 votes in his final year on the ballot. Hall of Fame Batting Register | Baseball-Reference.com Hall of Fame Batting Register Average Batting HOFer's stats include batters and player inductees only. Reulbach led the league in winning percentage for three straight years from 1906 to 1908 when he compiled a record of 60-15 over the three-year period. He finished fourth in the MVP voting that year behind Hall of Famers Paul Waner, Frankie Frisch and Rogers Hornsby. His name showed up in the Mitchell Report, but it came without the hard evidence like shipping receipts or direct accusations that others had. He received more votes than six eventual Hall of Famers. The five-time Gold Glove shortstop was the glue that held the Big Red Machine's infield together. Belle finished his career on a run of nine straight seasons of 100 RBI. Look for your favorite MLB slugger in this impressive list of baseball's top 500 career batting leaders. The tragedy of Munson is well-known, and his stature as the unquestioned leader of the Yankees made it even more difficult to take. 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. Baseball Hall of Fame after playing much of his career as a designated hitter. The 10-time All-Star won the NL MVP in 1974 and led the NL in hits in both 1978 and 1980. As shown in Table 5, seven former members of the Career .300 Hitters Club finished their major-league careers with .296 batting averages. Nicknamed the "Louisville Slugger," Browning was the inspiration for naming the famous bat after he purchased bats from theHillerich & Bradsby Company. But when it came to hitting towering shots, no one was better than "Big Donkey." 1 1. Groat won the 1960 batting title with a .325 average and was a five-time All-Star. Like Dale Murphy, he consistently gets dinged for having too short of a peak. The others are Randy Johnson, Nolan Ryan and Sandy Koufax. His .564 slugging percentage ranks 14th all time. Murphy was hurt by a severe drop-off in production after the age of 31. He ranked fifth in all-time hits when he retired. He finished with 2,210 career hits and played excellent defense. 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. He won the 1994 MVP award and finished in the top 10 in the voting five other times. His 1,330 walks ranks 36th all time and his 606 stolen bases ranks fifth. 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. Lolich won three games in the series, out-dueling Bob Gibson during his signature season in Game 7 to win the series for the Tigers. Bartell received MVP votes in six seasons, finishing as high as sixth in 1937. Caruthers pitched for three teams from 1884 to 1892 and was a two-time 40-game winner. 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. Research is still ongoing and we'll continue to publish updates as more information becomes available. He lasted just five years before falling off after getting just 4.8 percent of the vote in 2011. A rare switch-hitting catcher, Simmons held the National League record for switch-hit home runs at any position when he retired with 182. "Rowdy Richard" Bartell's career started just as Ty Cobb's was ending, but Bartell carried Cobb's legacy of playing the game with reckless abandon. The 1978 AL Rookie of the Year played all 19 years of his career with the Tigers. 500. Top 3 Seaons. He has a lower WAR than Baines, and he had little power, but he won 8 gold gloves in his 17-year career, and he was an 8-time All-Star. He batted over .300 10 times and finished with a career average of .308. Nettles was a superior defender who finished fifth and sixth in the American League MVP voting in 1977 and 1978, respectively. The four-time Gold Glove winner finished with a .977 fielding percentage, which ranks 23rd all time at shortstop. Career statistics/162: .306 BA, 7 HR, 79 RBI, 5 . The Cobra won two batting titles with the Pirates (1977-78) and won the 1978 NL MVP award. When Bill Veeck brought him back to the White Sox for a two-game stint in 1980, he became the first player to appear in five different decades and also became the last active former Negro League baseball player. Foster's most famous season came in 1977 when he belted 52 home runs at a time when topping 50 homers meant something. Ryne Sandberg : in his first year of eligibility in 2003 received 49.2% of the vote and gets enshrined in 2005 in his third year on the ballot receiving 76.2 . Kuenn won the AL Rookie of the Year in 1953, then led all shortstops in putouts and assists the following year. 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. He is hurt by the fact that he really only played 11 full seasons in the major leagues. Derringer went on to make six All-Star games for the Reds and had two top-four finishes in NL MVP voting. Allen is a divisive figure when it comes to the Hall of Fame debate. 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. Damon is no longer on the writers Hall of Fame ballot, but his consistency and starring roles on both Red Sox and Yankees title teams might get him in one day. During his eight seasons in pinstripes, he went 131-60 with a 3.30 ERA. What is the highest career batting average for an MLB player who is not in the Hall of Fame? Usually when you finish your career as the all-time leader in a major category, you are a lock for the Hall of Fame. 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. HR Rank All Time. He had at least 190 strikeouts in a season 10 times and won 20 games twice. Out of all eligible players, only Vada Pinson and Harold Baines have had more and not been voted into the Hall of Fame. During a time when the game was dominated by Greg Maddux, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens and Pedro Martinez on the mound, Brown wasn't that far off from those hurlers. O'Doul actually is in the Baseball Hall of Fame, just not the one in Cooperstown. He hit 136 homers over his final five seasons after hitting just 159 the previous 10 seasons. Like many others,. Stephens also was an AL All-Star seven times. Franco led the league in saves three times and was a four-time All-Star. Bold indicates active player. According to not in WC! 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. Mattingly batted over .300 in each of his first six full seasons, leading the AL in 1984 with a .343 average. Along with Hank Greenberg, Bridges is the only other Tiger to appear in four World Series. + - Indicates Hall of Famer. Backup: Ken Singleton 8) Ted Simmons -- Catcher Bartell didn't have the hitting prowess of Cobb, but he did have a fine career nevertheless. His 390 home runs ranks among the best for third basemen. Gooden's career .634 winning percentage is higher than Cy Young, Walter Johnson, Bob Feller, Greg Maddux, Warren Spahn and a host of other Hall of Famers. He led the league in hits, doubles and triples twice each and finished his career with 2,757 hits. As a player, Palmeiro should have received automatic first-ballot induction into Cooperstown after compiling over 3,000 hits and 500 home runs in his 20-year career. In an era dominated by the long ball, Grace was a consistent .300 hitter who played an outstanding defensive first base. Through Aug. 13, 2020, 203 qualified players had batting averages over .300. After serving in the military, Boyer made his debut at the age of 24 and instantly became an impact player for the Cardinals. Research by Baseball Almanac. Hall of Fame Voting: Lou Whitaker : in his first year of eligibility in 2001 received a mind-boggling 2.9% vote, falling short of the minimum 5% vote, thus eliminating him from the ballot. "Bad Bill" Dahlen's career was split between the 19th and 20th centuries, but it qualifies here since he played more games in the 1900s than he did the 1800s. Reynolds helped the Yankees to six World Series titles, racking up a 7-2 record with a 2.79 ERA over 15 World Series games. The highest number of games he played in after the age of 29 was 109 in 1951. Harder may never have been a dominant pitcher, but he was incredibly reliable over a career that started while Babe Ruth was in his heyday and ended after World War II. His 2,139 hits as a Cub were second only to 19th century legend Cap Anson on the Cubs' all-time list. The years he did play, though, he was unquestionably one of the top hitters in the league. For the kind of player Raines was, that should not keep him out of the Hall of Fame. He still holds the Reds' franchise records for most wins by a righty with 161, and his 579 games pitched ranked eighth in NL history when he retired in 1945 after a 15-year career. 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. Pujols will obviously make the Hall of Fame one day, but right now the biggest question is if he reached the top 10 for most hits ever. Yet while Rice and Dawson were elected to the Hall of Fame, Parker only received 24.5 percent of the vote in his second year on the ballot and went down from there. He was a six-time All-Star and won 20 games three times. 97. He led the NL in home runs four times. While he never reached those heights again, Guidry had four top-five Cy Young finishes, made four All-Star games and won five straight Gold Gloves in the 1980s. Sign up for the List Wire newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning. Richardson played just 12 years in the major leagues, appearing in the World Series in seven of them. 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. He might never have been a superstar, much of a defender, or someone I'd seriously consider voting into the Hall of Fame, but with 150 more hits, he'd probably have been a first ballot inductee. Hodges consistently finished in the top five in Hall of Fame balloting throughout his career. Root was allegedly the pitcher who gave up Babe Ruth's "called shot," which often overshadows an excellent career. A terrific run-producer, Cooper led the league in RBIs twice and doubles twice. He won 20 games four times, but he also was one of the few post-WWII pitchers to lose 20 in a season. In the era between 1965 and 1990, Foster was the only player to hit 50 home runs. He finished in the top 10 in the National League in batting eight times. Hell be a first-ballot inductee for the 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame class. The general rule is that 3,000 career hits is an automatic ticket to induction in the Hall of Fame and that generally remains the case, though there are a handful still on the outside looking. There are a lot of players who are on the outside looking in, despite being superior to some players who are already enshrined. Dark received constant moderate support during his 15-year run on the MLB Hall of Fame ballot, frequently drawing more support than current Hall of Famers Bill Mazeroski, Richie Ashburn and Nellie Fox. 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