+ - Indicates Hall of Famer. His 390 home runs ranks among the best for third basemen. One of the great crimes in modern Hall of Fame balloting is that Bill Freehan received just two votes in 1982, his only year on the ballot. Only four players who are eligible for the Hall of Fame and not enshrined have more hits than Buckner's 2,715. John won 20 games three times, all post-surgery, and was an All-Star on four occasions. 2,000 on Monday night. 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. 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. 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. NL in hits in 1999 with 206. Negative racial/anti-Semitic, or religious stereotypes are prohibited. He was only a tiny bit better than Billy Mueller. O'Doul actually is in the Baseball Hall of Fame, just not the one in Cooperstown. Through Aug. 13, 2020, 203 qualified players had batting averages over .300. Richardson played just 12 years in the major leagues, appearing in the World Series in seven of them. Galarraga transformed himself from a high-average, Gold Glove first baseman to a power-hitting masher after eight seasons in the league with a move to the Colorado Rockies. He received Cy Young award votes in five seasons, winning it in 1994. Wood led the Red Sox to the 1912 World Series behind a record of 34-5. He was a six-time All-Star and won 20 games three times. He received MVP votes in eight seasons, finishing in the top 10 in six of those years. Bartell didn't have the hitting prowess of Cobb, but he did have a fine career nevertheless. He ranked fifth in all-time hits when he retired. From 1984 to 1989 "Donnie Baseball" was the most prolific hitter in baseball. Nicknamed the "Louisville Slugger," Browning was the inspiration for naming the famous bat after he purchased bats from theHillerich & Bradsby Company. Miguel Cabrera leads a group comfortably over .300 Maz got in because of his glove. 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. He also didn't have a great batting average. By Jim McLennan @AZSnakepit Apr 11, 2012, 11:00pm EDT. When he was good, he was excellent, but in the end Tiant was too inconsistent to merit serious Hall of Fame consideration. He ended his career with a .293 average and 1,977 hits. 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 had four top-four finishes in Cy Young award voting, winning the award unanimously in 1988. O'Doul finished his career with a .349 batting average, still the fourth-best in major league history. But others are there for good. A terrific lead-off hitter and defensive center fielder, Lofton's excellence was overshadowed by the home runs and steroids which came to dominate baseball in the late 1990s. Mattingly batted over .300 in each of his first six full seasons, leading the AL in 1984 with a .343 average. Everyone has their own opinion. For medical advice, always consult your medical doctor. He is responsible for one of the game's greatest accomplishments, though, pitching back-to-back no-hitters in 1938. Reynolds made five All-Star games and had two top-three MVP finishes. Simmons was an eight-time All-Star despite playing his career in the National League alongside Carter and Johnny Bench. Trammell played for 20 years, all for the Detroit Tigers, and was a six-time All-Star. The most recent no-hitter by all 30 MLB teams. A remarkable career largely lost to time will take center stage this . He is hurt by the fact that he really only played 11 full seasons in the major leagues. 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. His .948 OPS ranks 21st all time. The plaque dedicated to Sanford 'Sandy' Koufax at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New . The 1945 NL MVP, Cavarretta played more seasons with the Cubs than anybody in the 20th century. Please check your email for a confirmation. Sure, it was a different era, but those are some incredible numbers. Blue burst onto the scene as a 21-year-old in 1971, his first full season in the majors. He finished with 399 career home runs, 2,333 hits and six top-10 MVP finishes. Ortiz ranks first among all players who spent 50% of their career at designated hitter in home runs, RBIs and doubles (632). Kaat was a classic compiler thanks to an incredible 25-year major league career. He collected 3,166 career hits, which included 636 doubles and 477 home runs. Oliver bounced around on seven different teams during his career, but wherever he went, he flat out hit. With another 2-3 seasons, he wouldve reached the magic 3,000 number that wouldve almost assuredly ensured his induction. And replacing him with Jose Abreu, who just posted a 137 wRC+ and is a career .292/.354/.506 hitter is an unbelievable win for this front office. 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. He finished fifth in the AL MVP voting on three separate occasions. 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. He has increased his totals in each of the past three elections and was up to 48.7 percent in 2012. Foster's most famous season came in 1977 when he belted 52 home runs at a time when topping 50 homers meant something. Joe Morgan, Frankie Frisch, Eddie Collins, Roberto Alomar and Craig Biggio have led the way. He was the Cy Young award runner-up twice and had two other top-eight finishes. career 300 hitters not in hall of fame. Minoso also led the league in "hit by pitch" 10 times, and his 192 plunkings ranks ninth all time. That came 10 years after he clubbed 51 for the Giants in 1955, the longest stretch between 50-homer seasons for any player. One of the best and longest-running arguments fans like to get involved with revolves around the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. He retired following the 1993 season with eight All-Star Game selections, 773 starts (second all-time to Cy Young) and the lowest hits-per-nine-innings-pitched ratio (6.56) of any pitcher in history. Walker batted .357 between 1997 and 2001, leading the National League in batting three of the four years in which he was eligible. "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. DiMaggio played just 11 years for the Red Sox, but had a big impact as the team's everyday center fielder playing next to Ted Williams. 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. Bagwell has been on the Hall of Fame ballot for two years and if trends hold up, he should find himself in Cooperstown one day. The highest number of games he played in after the age of 29 was 109 in 1951. Grace batted over .300 nine times and over.295 three more times. 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 . He finished first or second in fielding percentage for 13 of his 19 major league seasons. He hit 136 homers over his final five seasons after hitting just 159 the previous 10 seasons. Clark's career trajectory didn't continue on that path, though, as injuries robbed him of hundreds of games in the 1990s. 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. Hes never been close to being considered a bona fide Hall of Fame candidate, though. 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. 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. now in the modern age batting average is deemed pretty meaningless by Saber metrics. As of this writing, Cabrera was also just one homer away from No. Published: Mar. He didn't top 100 strikeouts in any of his final 11 seasons. 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 was a six-time All-Star and twice finished in the top 10 in MVP voting. His 39-game hitting streak in 1987 is the longest . 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. 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. Morris' case is buoyed by excellent performances in the 1984 and 1991 postseasons when he anchored the Tigers' and Twins' staffs to World Series titles in those respective years. Stephens led the AL in RBI twice and home runs once, but his production fell off considerably after the age of 29. In an era dominated by the long ball, Grace was a consistent .300 hitter who played an outstanding defensive first base. In the World Series, he hit .529 in a four-game sweep at the hands of the Reds. 7) Ken Griffey Jr.: 630 500th HR: June 20, 2004 He topped 30 home runs eight years in a row, peaking at 50 in 1995. With Clark in the fold, it's easy to think that another World Series flag, or two, would be flying at Kauffman. Groat was also the 1963 MVP runner-up to Sandy Koufax. 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. Like many others,. Like Allen, Freehan played during baseball's second dead-ball period in the 1960s, causing his offensive statistics to be hindered. His career total of 1,614 walks ranks 11th all time. He was a six-time All-Star and a three-time top-five MVP finisher. Simmons may not have the hardware of Hall of Fame catching peers Gary Carter and Carlton Fisk, but he really isn't that far off. He won three Gold Glove awards and is known for having one of the great outfield arms of all time. 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. Brown was a six-time All-Star and finished in the top six in Cy Young voting five times. Because of this and a quick downfall to his production after age 35, Hodges amassed only 1,921 hits. 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. He finished with a career record of 193-121 but had an ERA of 4.04. Although his case was one of 10 reviewed by a special committee in 2008, Ferrell's numbers fell short. However, the high intensity took its toll physically on Martin, who only played over 100 games five times in his career. 1. Overall, he received MVP votes in eightdifferentyears and won three Gold Gloves. 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 . Best 3 Year Period. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images). Beltre put up amazing numbers before retiring after the 2018 season. Just 16 hitters have a career .300 average with 10,000-plus PA; Ichiro stole 509 bases in his career. First, here are the ten current members of the 500 HR club ranked according to their career WAR through 2008: Name. In 1956 he received more votes than 14 future Hall of Famers, including Leo Durocher, Phil Rizzuto, Joe Sewell, Ernie Lombardi and Bobby Doerr. He made seven All-Star games during his career. When Cone was on his game, there were few pitchers with better stuff during his era. Some players are kept out because of theirtemperament, some didn't have a long enough peak and others are just totallyunderappreciated. The two-time AL batting champ made seven All-Star games and won five Silver Slugger awards. An incredibly consistent and clutch performer, Williams is one of the most accomplished switch-hitters of all time. Note: Players are eligible for the Hall of Fame five years after they retire. a . He drove home 1,707 runs while scoring 1,524 times. He was the starting pitcher in the 1956 All-Star Game on a team featuring Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra. 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. Although he never reached an elite level, he did stick around to compile some impressive stats. Cone didn't compile big career numbers since he battled injuries for many years, but he matches up with the best in some of his individual years. 10-07-2016, 07:41 AM. He had a WHIP under 1.200 an incredible 12 times during his career. Mattingly made six straight All-Star games, won three Silver Slugger awards and nine Gold Gloves, a record for AL first basemen. 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. Giancarlo Stanton has only played 235 of his 1,324 career games as a designated hitter, but he should be slotted there for the vast majority of his six remaining seasons in the Bronx. 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. 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. Hes basically a forgotten star at this point. The golden mark is a WAR of 100 or better, with just 25 players reaching or surpassing that figure. In five years, he will enter the Hall of Fame as one of the . Caruthers pitched for three teams from 1884 to 1892 and was a two-time 40-game winner. Still, he should have gotten a little more support on the Hall of Fame ballot. Despite his longevity, Baines never won a World Series, never led the league in a major category and the only major award he won was the Silver Slugger award in 1989. There's a legitimate case for him to garner support on the Hall of Fame ballot. The 10-time All-Star won the NL MVP in 1974 and led the NL in hits in both 1978 and 1980. Yost was also prolific at drawing walks, leading the American League six times in his career. Staubs numbers arent quite Hall of Fame level, but his longevity (23 years) is off the charts. Allen was a feared slugger and clutch hitter whose .534 slugging percentage was the best of any non-Hall of Fame member until Albert Belle came along. Vander Meer had a losing record over the course of his career, and that will likely keep him out of the Hall of Fame. 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 was a key piece in four World Series titles for the Yankees, delivering numerous clutch hits along the way. 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. 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. Remarkably, he finished with 90 more votes than teammate Duke Snider who would go on to be elected in 1980. 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. His percentage was higher than seven eventual Hall of Famers, including Duke Snider, Phil Rizzuto, Richie Ashburn and Don Drysdale. Thomas was the designated hitter in only 56.42 percent of the games he played in, while Molitor's percentage was even lower at 43.76. He eclipsed 240 innings pitched in seven of his nine full seasons and had a career record of 187-111. Raines has been on the ballot for six years, and during that time his vote percentage has gone from 24.3 in . His 385 career home runs are the 10th-highest total for any American League right-handed batter. Boone was arguably the greatest defensive catcher of a generation that also included Hall of Famers Gary Carter and Carlton Fisk. 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. Reaching 3,000 hits, in our opinion, is a benchmark of true greatness that few will ever achieve. Age 35, Hodges amassed only 1,921 hits a benchmark of true greatness that few will ever.. 109 in 1951 s a legitimate case for him to garner support on the list. 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