Here are some more .300+ hitters who aren't in the Hall: Lefty O'Doul-the man hit .349 in his career! Johnson hit for good average on top of his power as well, batting over .290 nine times. The Worst Starts To Hall Of Fame Careers. He received MVP votes seven times, finishing second in 1987. 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. But when it came to hitting towering shots, no one was better than "Big Donkey." 1 1. While he wasn't a home run hitter, Grace was a prolific doubles hitter, topping 500 for his career. In five years, he will enter the Hall of Fame as one of the . He was a Rookie of the Year winner, seven-time All-Star, MVP recipient, and thrice a top-10 finisher in the MVP race. He won three Gold Glove awards and is known for having one of the great outfield arms of all time. 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. 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 made eight straight All-Star games and received MVP votes in each of those years. A. 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. Bagwell has vehemently denied taking steroids, but that hasn't stopped voters from having their doubts. Oliva was a terrific hitter for the Twins in the 1960s and 1970s. However, Smith does have a case that puts him in the Hall of Fame discussion. But others are there for good. The 1964 NL MVP was a seven-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove winner. He had a WHIP under 1.200 an incredible 12 times during his career. Through Aug. 13, 2020, 203 qualified players had batting averages over .300. He ranked fifth in all-time hits when he retired. Adams won 194 games during the dead-ball era for the Pirates and was an early master of WHIP. "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. He won three batting titles, led the AL in hits five times and had two runner-up finishes in MVP voting. He won the 1994 MVP award and finished in the top 10 in the voting five other times. Maz got in because of his glove. McGwire's at-bats were must-watch TV for nearly a decade, and he fully captivated the nation for a summer in 1998. 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 that time he made the all-star game every year, hit more than .300, and hit more than 35 home . But not many . Minimum of 1000 IP, 3000 PA, 500 games (fielding, 500 IP for Ps), 200 stolen base attempts (catchers) or 80 stolen base attempts (baserunners only since 1951) or 100 decisions for career and active leaderboards for rate statistics. in double plays turned by a first baseman six times in his career (cover photo: Denver Post) At times, Tiant was one of the great clutch pitchers of his generation. O'Doul finished his career with a .349 batting average, still the fourth-best in major league history. He never led the league in any major categories, but was still a very productive leader and beloved player on the great Brooklyn Dodger teams of the 1950s. Ichiro is only renting space on this list. 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. Still, he should have gotten a little more support on the Hall of Fame ballot. He had at least 190 strikeouts in a season 10 times and won 20 games twice. 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. Sain received support for the Hall of Fame in 1975 when he received 123 votes in his final year on the ballot. He batted over .300 10 times and finished with a career average of .308. In the World Series, he hit .529 in a four-game sweep at the hands of the Reds. During that time, Harder made four straight All-Star games. 500. The big draw for Maris' Hall of Fame case is obviously his 61 home runs in 1961. 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 . McGriff was remarkably consistent, belting 30 home runs in a season 10 times during the steroid era without a whisper of accusation about him. The 1969 Cy Young award winner, Cuellar won 20 games four times and finished his career with 185 wins. A number of baseball's best hitters have come close to garnering 3,000 base hits over their major league careers. Bartell didn't have the hitting prowess of Cobb, but he did have a fine career nevertheless. He played five years in the NA before the league morphed into the National League. At the time of his retirement, Williams was the National League's all-time home run leader with 251. Mattingly made six straight All-Star games, won three Silver Slugger awards and nine Gold Gloves, a record for AL first basemen. Edgar Martinez, who will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday, could really hit the baseball. Reynolds made five All-Star games and had two top-three MVP finishes. 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. Vaughn middled around during the first six years of his career before winning 21 games for the Cubs in 1914. 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. His Hall of Fame candidacy peaked in 1995, his third year on the ballot. Although he never reached an elite level, he did stick around to compile some impressive stats. Cavarretta got excellent support in Hall of Fame balloting in the 1970s, peaking in 1975 when he received 35.6 percent of the vote. Negro League data is not complete. "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. 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. now in the modern age batting average is deemed pretty meaningless by Saber metrics. 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). He was a two-time NLCS MVP. 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. Travis played in just 226 games after returning from the war, though, batting just .241 over that time. In his 10 full seasons (leaving out two wrecked by injuries), he has won two batting titles, made five All-Star squads, and hit over .300 every year. Hes never been close to being considered a bona fide Hall of Fame candidate, though. He won eight Gold Gloves and finished his career with a .313 average and 383 home runs. Along with Hank Greenberg, Bridges is the only other Tiger to appear in four World Series. He finished with just 275 career homers and a .260 batting average. He ranks higher than pitchers like Catfish Hunter, Don Drysdale and Jim Bunning in that category. One of the more underrated hitters of the 1970s and 1980s, Oliver batted over .300 11 times, finishing with a career average of .303. He was a seven-time All-Star. Mays was a sidearming spitball pitcher who pitched for four teams in the early 20th century. His play on the field, though, is worthy of enshrinement. Please seek professional guidance. The tragedy of Munson is well-known, and his stature as the unquestioned leader of the Yankees made it even more difficult to take. When the Cubs legend retired in 1947, he was arguably the best National League third baseman outside of Pie Traynor. Sain was robbed of three prime years when he served in World War II, contributing to a short peak as a star pitcher. When Cone was on his game, there were few pitchers with better stuff during his era. Sign up for the List Wire newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning. He won 20 games four times, but he also was one of the few post-WWII pitchers to lose 20 in a season. Before that, O'Doul had some great seasons as a left fielder after being converted from a pitcher at the age of 31. Despite being just a part-time pitcher over his final seven seasons, Harder won 223 games in his career and is the only eligible player who has pitched at least 20 seasons for one club who is not in the Hall of Fame. Richardson was a clutch World Series player and still remains the only player from a losing team to win the World Series MVP. Pinson's career is somewhat overshadowed by the contemporaries he played against as an outfielder in the 1960s and 1970s. Evans was an outstanding all-around right fielder who possessed one of the game's greatest throwing arms. He finished in the top five in Cy Young voting three times, made seven All-Star games and received MVP votes in four seasons. Smith had a long, productive career and while he was never great, he was often very good. Buffinton authored one of the most incomprehensible statistical seasons in baseball history in 1884. Garvey was even better in the postseason, holding a .338 average and 11 home runs in 55 games. 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. Cramer played a total of 20 seasons from 1929 to 1948 and had long stints with the As, Red Sox and Tigers. He still remains one of the top five home run-hitting catchers of all time. That is clear from his numbers: a .312 batting average and a .418 on . Minoso is a player whose importance transcends hisaccomplishmentson the diamond. 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. He finished fourth in the MVP voting that year behind Hall of Famers Paul Waner, Frankie Frisch and Rogers Hornsby. Bonds wouldve reached the 3,000 hit mark had a club offered him a contract for the 2008 season or if he hadnt walked a MLB-record 2,558 times. Career statistics/162: .306 BA, 7 HR, 79 RBI, 5 . He didn't get his start until he was 26 and lasted just 12 years in the bigs, compiling a 166-112 record. Note: Players are eligible for the Hall of Fame five years after they retire. | Brian Kersey/Getty Images Take the case of former Phoenix high school legend, Paul Konerko. Miguel Cabrera leads a group comfortably over .300 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. His 137 career OPS+ ranks behind only Mantle, Berkman and Jones among modern switch-hitters. 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. He also didn't thrive in the postseason, going 0-2 with an 8.44 ERA in four games. 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. Mullane was anambidextrous pitcher who compiled 284 wins from 1881 to 1894. For a short period of time in the mid-to-late 1980s, Mattingly was on the short list of the best players in the game. career 300 hitters not in hall of fame. He finished in the top 10 in MVP voting in each of his first four full seasons and six times overall. Beltre put up amazing numbers before retiring after the 2018 season. He was the Cy Young award runner-up twice and had two other top-eight finishes. Not for me. He made seven All-Star games during his career. Torre was a nine-time All-Star and the 1971 NL MVP after batting .363 with 230 hits and 137 RBI. Baseballs collusion case in the mid-80s brought an early end to his career. Votto's career .303 batting average and career .932 OPS also is good enough to be a HOF. He had enough support to stay on the Hall of Fame ballot for the maximum of 15 years, garnering 88 votes in 2008, his final year. Here are three players who hit 400 HRs and won't make it into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Hes first eligible for Cooperstown in 2024. A remarkable career largely lost to time will take center stage this . He finished first or second in fielding percentage for 13 of his 19 major league seasons. He finished with 2,210 career hits and played excellent defense. 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 . Yost was also prolific at drawing walks, leading the American League six times in his career. Still, he finished his career with a .303 average and six All-Star games. Hell be a first-ballot inductee for the 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame class. Nicknamed the "Louisville Slugger," Browning was the inspiration for naming the famous bat after he purchased bats from theHillerich & Bradsby Company. Walker batted .357 between 1997 and 2001, leading the National League in batting three of the four years in which he was eligible. 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. Belle may have been a jerk and got caught with a corked bat, but the fact that he had just two meek representations on the Hall of Fame ballot before being dropped is a crime. The others are Randy Johnson, Nolan Ryan and Sandy Koufax. Everybody concentrates on Gooden's squandered talent, and rightly so. Smith's case is based on being very good and compiling stats over an 18-year career. He ranks second in hits, walks, runs scored and slugging percentage . It is hard to argue that Beltran's resume is not Hall of Fame-worthy. He was a six-time All-Star and twice finished in the top 10 in MVP voting. He has just two years left on the ballot but figures to have a tough time cracking through against stiff competition the next two seasons. 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. He was a six-time All-Star and a three-time top-five MVP finisher. Kaat was a classic compiler thanks to an incredible 25-year major league career. Before a fine career as a manager, Kuenn was one of the top hitters in the majors during the 1950s and 1960s. At the end of his career, he ranked in the top five for American League right-handed batters in career RBI, runs, total bases, slugging and walks. Foster's most famous season came in 1977 when he belted 52 home runs at a time when topping 50 homers meant something. I don't think Votto catches him in the power numbers even with 8 . He was a key member of the Yankees during the Mickey Mantle era. He had set a major league record with 59 straight scoreless innings, and in four of his first five full seasons, he had an ERA of 3.06 or lower. 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. Doug Clark to be inducted in WMass Baseball Hall of Fame. Evans averaged just 18 home runs a season between 1976 and 1984. The diamond and played excellent defense fielding percentage for 13 of his power well., batting just.241 over that time, Harder made four straight All-Star games minoso is a player whose transcends. And 1970s over that time, Harder made four straight All-Star games and received MVP in! 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