His 390 home runs ranks among the best for third basemen. He was a seven-time All-Star. Smith's case is based on being very good and compiling stats over an 18-year career. HR Rank All Time. Palmeiros steroid use led to everyone discounting his monstrous numbers. 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. Dave Orr-hit .342 but only played 8 seasons, so he isn't eligible for the Hall. McCormick won 265 games over just 10 seasons, topping the 40-win mark twice. He lasted just five years before falling off after getting just 4.8 percent of the vote in 2011. The 1964 NL MVP was a seven-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove winner. However, his ability as one of the game's top sluggers cannot be denied. Root was allegedly the pitcher who gave up Babe Ruth's "called shot," which often overshadows an excellent career. 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. Kuenn won the AL Rookie of the Year in 1953, then led all shortstops in putouts and assists the following year. 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. Bartell received MVP votes in six seasons, finishing as high as sixth in 1937. Guidry turned in one of the great pitching seasons of all time when he went 25-3 in 1978 with a 1.78 ERA. Foster's most famous season came in 1977 when he belted 52 home runs at a time when topping 50 homers meant something. He has finished no worse than eighth in Hall of Fame voting in his three years on the ballot, topping 32 percent each time. Buffinton authored one of the most incomprehensible statistical seasons in baseball history in 1884. Here are the 25 best hitters in Major League Baseball history. As Freehan's career was ending, catchers like Johnny Bench, Carlton Fisk and Gary Carter ushered in a new era of catcher. 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. Claim to fame: One of the first longtime designated hitters to build some support for Cooperstown, Baines hit .289 lifetime with 2,866 hits and 384 home runs. 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 in due to situations of their own making. For medical advice, always consult your medical doctor. 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. Although he was overshadowed by the big home run hitters of the era, Kuenn held his own as a terrific all-around player. He received MVP votes seven times, finishing second in 1987. He was a key piece in four World Series titles for the Yankees, delivering numerous clutch hits along the way. During his time with the White Sox, Minoso was a seven-time All-Star who finished fourth in the MVP voting on four different occasions. His 1,330 walks ranks 36th all time and his 606 stolen bases ranks fifth. He made seven All-Star games during his career. 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. 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. However, in his prime, he made seven straight All-Star games, had eight top-20 MVP finishes, won three Gold Gloves and three World Series titles. Coombs, however, didn't have the longevity of his teammates and faded fast. By the time it came to vote for Freehan in 1982, his numbers paled in comparison to those catching at the time. Clark was a six time All Star and borderline Hall of Famer. In five years, he will enter the Hall of Fame as one of the . Garvey will likely be a strong Veterans Committee candidate years down the line. His 383 sacrifice hits still remains third all time. He led the league in the category five times, including 1919 and 1920 when he registered WHIPs below 1.000. Garvey was a remarkably consistent and clutch performer for the great Dodgers teams for over a decade in the 1970s and 1980s. At the time of his retirement, he held the major league record for games played and was in the top 10 in RBI, doubles and extra-base hits. He finished with just 275 career homers and a .260 batting average. Mays was a sidearming spitball pitcher who pitched for four teams in the early 20th century. Gonzalez was suspected of steroid abuse and was named in Jose Canseco's book Juiced. career 300 hitters not in hall of fame. 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. Pete Browning-.341 average. O'Doul had one of the greatest offensive seasons in major league history in 1929 when he set a National League record with 254 hits. He didn't get his start until he was 26 and lasted just 12 years in the bigs, compiling a 166-112 record. McGwire's candidacy is obviously tainted by his steroids admissions, and it could keep him out of the Hall of Fame altogether. He went 208-126 with a 2.92 ERA and twice led the league in complete games, shutouts and saves. career 300 hitters not in hall of fame. He was also the premier first baseman in his league (the National League) while he was playing. Maris was considered a power show more content Starting in 1953, Pierce made the All-Star game seven out of the next nine years and received MVP votes in five seasons. 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. More about data coverage Share & Export When Smith retired, he was the game's all-time saves leader and topped the list in games finished. He finished with 254 career wins, finished in the top five in Cy Young voting five times and won 20 games three times. Torre will one day get into the Hall of Fame as a manager, but the chance also remains that he will be inducted as a player one day by the Veterans Committee. The most recent no-hitter by all 30 MLB teams. Strikeouts thrown by a pitcher in a career, 5,714, Nolan Ryan, 1966-93 . Playing in the infield with Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, Tony Perez and Johnny Bench, Concepcion was a nine-time All-Star who also won two Silver Slugger awards. The highest batting average for an ELIGIBLE player is Lefty O'Doul, 6th place overall, at .3493. Schuerholz also scored . Like Dave McNally, who appeared earlier on this list, Cuellar had a terrific, but brief, peak as a pitcher for the great Orioles' staff of the 1970s. From 1973 to the conclusion of the 2017 season, only nine players appeared in 1,000 or more games at DH. He finished with 2,210 career hits and played excellent defense. Although he didn't have the quickness of Johnny Bench, Boone was incredibly durable and was the only catcher who consistently placed in the top 10 for defensive WAR for the better part of two decades. He finished in the top 10 in MVP voting in each of his first four full seasons and six times overall. 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." O'Doul is in the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame and is credited with helping to popularize the sport in Japan in the 1930s. 500. He batted over .300 10 times and finished with a career average of .308. Oliver had perhaps his best year in 1982 when he led the National League in hits, doubles, runs batted in, and batting average, was an All Star, and finished third in Most Valuable Player voting. Indeed, only 33 men are members of the elite 3,000-Hit Club. Garvey was a durable player who played in 160 or more games nine times and won four Gold Glove awards at first base. Marty Dobrow | Special to MassLive. The two-time World Series champion finished with 2,326 career hits. Bill Mazeroski was a career .260 hitter. You won't find Pete Rose, Shoeless Joe or Eddie Cicotte on this list. Heres a look at the 20 most prolific hitters who arent in the Hall of Fame. 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. Only 40 of those 77 cross over onto . + - Indicates Hall of Famer. Negro League data is not complete. 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 topped 50 home runs four times and finished with 583 career homers. He made seven straight All-Star games in the 1980s and has three top-seven MVP finishes. John was another compiler, but the fact that he was able to stick around long enough to compile those statistics is incredible in itself. He finished with a career record of 193-121 but had an ERA of 4.04. He had a WHIP under 1.200 an incredible 12 times during his career. Franco led the league in saves three times and was a four-time All-Star. He has three top-three finishes in MVP voting and placed sixth in 1978. 1. First, here are the ten current members of the 500 HR club ranked according to their career WAR through 2008: Name. He threw over 500 innings five times, including 657 innings in 1880. Please check your email for a confirmation. He topped 30 home runs eight years in a row, peaking at 50 in 1995. 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. 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). Despite the tragedy, Mays had a very productive 15-year career. The big draw for Maris' Hall of Fame case is obviously his 61 home runs in 1961. Bullying, racism, personal attacks, harassment, or discrimination is prohibited. The best argument Trammell supporters have in their quest for his enshrinement is that many people feel Trammell was superior to Ozzie Smith, a contemporary of his who waltzed into Cooperstown on the first ballot with 91.7 percent of the vote. McNally may have had a short peak with the Baltimore Orioles, but what a peak it was. Caruthers pitched for three teams from 1884 to 1892 and was a two-time 40-game winner. In addition to being a winning pitcher for the Yanks during eight regular seasons, he excelled in the World Series, accumulating a 4-1 record with a 2.60 ERA over seven starts. He is one of only four pitchers to strike out 300 batters in a season three times since 1900. He got moderate support for his Hall of Fame candidacy, peaking in 1988 when he finished fifth in the voting with 43.1 percent, better than Hall of Famers Ron Santo and Bill Mazeroski. Baseball Hall of Fame after playing much of his career as a designated hitter. The golden mark is a WAR of 100 or better, with just 25 players reaching or surpassing that figure. Morris is in a race against time and semantics in his quest to make it to Cooperstown. Hes first eligible for Cooperstown in 2024. Minoso is a player whose importance transcends hisaccomplishmentson the diamond. Stephens also was an AL All-Star seven times. He still holds a number of Dodgers franchise records, and at the time of his retirement, his .532 slugging percentage was the fourth-best in NL history. He still remains one of the top five home run-hitting catchers of all time. 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 was one of the better fielding second basemen of his time. He had six 200-hit seasons and finished his 19-year career with a .294 lifetime average. He led the NL in home runs four times. He finished in the top 10 in the National League in batting eight times. Kaat was a classic compiler thanks to an incredible 25-year major league career. His 11 Gold Gloves are more than any first basemen in MLBhistory. 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. career 300 hitters not in hall of fame . Instead of talking about his incredible baseball accomplishments, Palmeiro's career is defined as being one of the poster boys for the steroid era. 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. Baines played in 2,830 career games, 19th all time, and amassed 2,866 career hits, the highest total of any eligible non-Hall of Famer. "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. He also didn't have a great batting average. Home Runs. Career: 133 OPS+, 61.8 WAR ( Wins Above Replacement) 5-time All-Star 4-time Gold Glove Award Winner 3-time Silver Slugger Award Winner Career OPS of .953 is the 15th-best in MLB history (minimum 7,500 plate appearances) Led N.L. His .688 winning percentage ranks fifth all time. In 2012, his second year, Bagwell received 56 percent of the vote to finish in third place. Answerbag wants to provide a service to people looking for answers and a good conversation. From 1984 to 1989 "Donnie Baseball" was the most prolific hitter in baseball. Cavarretta got excellent support in Hall of Fame balloting in the 1970s, peaking in 1975 when he received 35.6 percent of the vote. His career spanned the dead-ball and live-ball eras, exemplified by his league-leading home run totals of 12 (1916) and 41 (1923). His Hall of Fame case remains one of the most controversial and hes been bypassed by the Veterans Committee four times. Overall, he received MVP votes in eightdifferentyears and won three Gold Gloves. 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. He had four top-four finishes in Cy Young award voting, winning the award unanimously in 1988. Richardson played just 12 years in the major leagues, appearing in the World Series in seven of them. 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. Palmeiro topped 30 home runs 11 times and batted over .300 six times. The 1960 National League MVP teamed with Bill Mazeroski to form one of the best defensive middle infields of his era. Mullane won 30 games five times. Hall of Fame Batting Register | Baseball-Reference.com Hall of Fame Batting Register Average Batting HOFer's stats include batters and player inductees only. Thome played 22 years in the league. McGwire's at-bats were must-watch TV for nearly a decade, and he fully captivated the nation for a summer in 1998. Hodges consistently finished in the top five in Hall of Fame balloting throughout his career. He ended with 2,712 hits, 1,493 RBI and a .290 average. Mattingly made six straight All-Star games, won three Silver Slugger awards and nine Gold Gloves, a record for AL first basemen. 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