Oliva was a terrific hitter for the Twins in the 1960s and 1970s. Arguably the best designated hitter of all time, Martinez was very similar to Baines but with a little bit more hardware. 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. 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. Foster's most famous season came in 1977 when he belted 52 home runs at a time when topping 50 homers meant something. 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. 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 won the batting title in 1913 and 1914 while also displaying average power and speed and playing excellent defense. 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. The Worst Starts To Hall Of Fame Careers. Mays was a sidearming spitball pitcher who pitched for four teams in the early 20th century. He finished fifth in the AL MVP voting on three separate occasions. The others are Randy Johnson, Nolan Ryan and Sandy Koufax. Paul Konerko A sold-out crowd cheers for Paul Konerko of the Chicago White Sox as he is honored during a pre-game ceremony. Good ole Donnie Baseball Don Mattingly hit .307 and is not in the Hall of Fame. The years he did play, though, he was unquestionably one of the top hitters in the league. 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. Ryan was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1999. That's no small task when his staffmates were Hall of Famers Eddie Plank, Chief Bender, Herb Pennock and Stan Coveleski. When he was good, he was excellent, but in the end Tiant was too inconsistent to merit serious Hall of Fame consideration. He was also the premier first baseman in his league (the National League) while he was playing. From 1984 to 1989 "Donnie Baseball" was the most prolific hitter in baseball. There's a legitimate case for him to garner support on the Hall of Fame ballot. However, once Hershiser reached the age of 30, health issues set in and curtailed what could have been a Hall of Fame career. He received Cy Young award votes in five seasons, winning it in 1994. Please seek professional guidance. He was a seven-time All-Star. He won the National League pitching triple crown in 1918 and finished with a career record of 178-137. 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. White was the first-ever batter in National Association history. After serving in the military, Boyer made his debut at the age of 24 and instantly became an impact player for the Cardinals. If Wood didn't sustain an injury to the thumb on his pitching hand in 1913, he very well could have been mentioned along with Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson as the top pitchers of baseball's early years. For all of his accomplishments, though, he only made four All-Star games and had just three top-10 MVP finishes. During his eight seasons in pinstripes, he went 131-60 with a 3.30 ERA. He won seven Gold Gloves behind the plate and led the league in games played at catcher and assists as a catcher six times each. Everybody concentrates on Gooden's squandered talent, and rightly so. His 288 home runs ranked eighth in MLB history at the time of his retirement. It was one of the truly remarkable runs of success in the decade. For medical advice, always consult your medical doctor. The righty went 48-16 and struck out 417 batters in 587 innings. 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 . Beltre put up amazing numbers before retiring after the 2018 season. Bagwell led the NL in home runs in 1996, scored 100 runs nine times and drove in 100 runs eight times. By Jim McLennan @AZSnakepit Apr 11, 2012, 11:00pm EDT. He won eight Gold Gloves and finished his career with a .313 average and 383 home runs. The 1964 NL MVP was a seven-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove winner. Two of those former members came close to Emeritus Member status Ivan Rodriguez and Albert Pujols. He finished in the top five in Cy Young voting three times, made seven All-Star games and received MVP votes in four seasons. An excellent defender, Richardson won five straight Gold Gloves and finished second to Mantle in the 1962 AL MVP voting. Sain received support for the Hall of Fame in 1975 when he received 123 votes in his final year on the ballot. Yost was a supremely talented defender who set American League records for third basemen in career putouts, assists and total chances by the end of his career. The 1978 AL Rookie of the Year played all 19 years of his career with the Tigers. Over his final seven seasons, he topped 130 games played just once. Evans was an outstanding all-around right fielder who possessed one of the game's greatest throwing arms. Also of note here, because this is the era in which we live, the steroids issue must be addressed. In fact, his highest single-season average was just .267, and he once hit .159 in nearly 500 plate appearances. 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. Since McCarthy was not BETTER than any other Hall of Famer, he also has a "zero" in front of his name. It was the same year that Old Hoss Radbourn won 59 games. Colavito was a great power hitter and run producer in the 1950s who received surprisingly little support in his Hall of Fame candidacy. Research is still ongoing and we'll continue to publish updates as more information becomes available. Walker batted .357 between 1997 and 2001, leading the National League in batting three of the four years in which he was eligible. His play on the field, though, is worthy of enshrinement. Trammell was selected by baseball historian Bill James as the ninth-best shortstop of all time (h/t MLB.com), ahead of 14 players enshrined in Cooperstown. He finished with 399 career home runs, 2,333 hits and six top-10 MVP finishes. Hodges consistently finished in the top five in Hall of Fame balloting throughout his career. But when he was at his best, Reynolds could pitch with anybody. Because of this and a quick downfall to his production after age 35, Hodges amassed only 1,921 hits. 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. He received MVP votes in eight seasons, finishing in the top 10 in six of those years. 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 was up for Hall of Fame consideration in 2008, but he fell short of enshrinement once again. Groat was also the 1963 MVP runner-up to Sandy Koufax. O'Doul had just seven full seasons as an offensive player, but he had two top-three finishes in MVP voting. He was a key piece in four World Series titles for the Yankees, delivering numerous clutch hits along the way. McGriff was remarkably consistent, belting 30 home runs in a season 10 times during the steroid era without a whisper of accusation about him. Herman was an excellent hitter in the 1920s and 1930s, even if he never did really break through to the elite level. Garvey received 42.6 percent of the vote, more than eventual Hall of Famers Jim Rice, Bruce Sutter and Ron Santo. Johnson's career numbers were hurt by a late start, as he didn't make his debut until he was 27 years old. His wins total is among the highest of anybody not elected to the Hall of Fame. There were a few seasons in the 1910s where Coombs was one of the top pitchers on the Philadelphia A's. Nicknamed the "Louisville Slugger," Browning was the inspiration for naming the famous bat after he purchased bats from theHillerich & Bradsby Company. What is the highest career batting average for an MLB player who is not in the Hall of Fame? He was a two-time NLCS MVP. Lopat was a mainstay in the rotation of the great New York Yankee teams of the 1950s. From the time he broke into the league in 1986, Clark was one of the top hitters in the National League. In making this list, players were not penalized for admitting steroid use or rumored steroid use. A five-time All-Star, he was not quite a Hall of Famer. The 1945 NL MVP, Cavarretta played more seasons with the Cubs than anybody in the 20th century. He is best known for his role in one of baseball's greatest tragedies. In five years, he will enter the Hall of Fame as one of the . That it took Votto, one of the best pure hitters of his era, 15 seasons to reach 2,000 hits came as a bit of a surprise to many baseball fans. However, the high intensity took its toll physically on Martin, who only played over 100 games five times in his career. Only 40 of those 77 cross over onto . Parrish was one of the keys to the Tigers' 1984 World Series team, finishing third in the AL with 33 home runs that year. McNally may have had a short peak with the Baltimore Orioles, but what a peak it was. McCarthy had 170 Win Shares but only 14.6 WAR, for a Hall of Fame Value of 228.4. One of the great clutch hitters of his era, Martinez finished with a .312 career average and topped 500 doubles and 300 homers in his 18-year career. 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. A sturdy third sacker, listed at 6-foot-4 and 245 pounds during his playing career, Rolen - just the ninth third basemen elected to the Hall of Fame by the BBWAA - played 17 seasons from 1996 through 2012, splitting his time between the Phillies, Cardinals, Blue Jays and Reds. Glasscock got his start during baseball's infancy in 1879 as a shortstop for the Cleveland Blues. Harder spent 20 seasons hurling for the Indians and was at his best in the mid-1930s. He won three batting titles, led the AL in hits five times and had two runner-up finishes in MVP voting. That being said, here are the top 100 eligible players not in the MLB Hall of Fame. 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. In fact, when Grich led the American League in home runs in 1981, he became the first second basemen to do so since Nap Lajoie in 1901. Although he never really had that true great season, he was the mark of consistency for two decades. He was the starting pitcher in the 1956 All-Star Game on a team featuring Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra. Bonds . Derringer went on to make six All-Star games for the Reds and had two top-four finishes in NL MVP voting. He was one of the better fielding second basemen of his time. The five-time Gold Glove shortstop was the glue that held the Big Red Machine's infield together. Brown was a six-time All-Star and finished in the top six in Cy Young voting five times. Cross was a deadball era standout from 1887 to 1907, who played most of his career in Philadelphia. 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 finished with just 275 career homers and a .260 batting average. 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. 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. career 300 hitters not in hall of fame. In 1910, he led the A's to a World Series title with a 31-9 record and a 1.30 ERA. Tiant twice led the league with ERAs under 2.00, but he also had five years with an ERA over 4.00. He led a resurgent Braves squad in 1982 and 1983 with back-to-back MVP seasons in which he was a fine power hitter and Gold Glove center fielder. 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. Maz got in because of his glove. Hes basically a forgotten star at this point. Trammell played for 20 years, all for the Detroit Tigers, and was a six-time All-Star. Hernandez was the 1979 MVP for the Cardinals and finished in the top 10 of MVP voting three straight years for the Mets. His career total of 1,614 walks ranks 11th all time. In the era between 1965 and 1990, Foster was the only player to hit 50 home runs. 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. He batted over .300 10 times and finished with a career average of .308. Still, he should have gotten a little more support on the Hall of Fame ballot. 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. 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. He also didn't thrive in the postseason, going 0-2 with an 8.44 ERA in four games. As shown in Table 5, seven former members of the Career .300 Hitters Club finished their major-league careers with .296 batting averages. Schilling should be in the Hall, but he. Mattingly made six straight All-Star games, won three Silver Slugger awards and nine Gold Gloves, a record for AL first basemen. Hernandez played first base with the range of a middle infielder. 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. 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. Below is the list of 254 Major League Baseball players who have reached the 2,000 hit milestone during their career in MLB. Colavito was also an excellent outfielder, possessing one of the greatest throwing arms in the game. Even for people who think Smith was better than Trammell, it wasn't as much as their Hall of Fame ballot gaps suggest. One of the more underrated hitters of the 1970s and 1980s, Oliver batted over .300 11 times, finishing with a career average of .303. Pinson was a very good all-around player, though, even if he wasn't in the class of those immortals. Kaat was a classic compiler thanks to an incredible 25-year major league career. 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