For eight straight years he made the AL All-Star team and finished in the top 20 for AL MVP voting. 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. 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. His 466 complete games ranks 11th all time. He received Cy Young award votes in five seasons, winning it in 1994. 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. John was another compiler, but the fact that he was able to stick around long enough to compile those statistics is incredible in itself. But when he was at his best, Reynolds could pitch with anybody. 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 . The very worst position player ever selected to the Hall of Fame was Tommy McCarthy, a 19th-century outfielder. 7) Ken Griffey Jr.: 630 500th HR: June 20, 2004 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. At times, Tiant was one of the great clutch pitchers of his generation. 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. From 1996-2006, through his age-31 season, Rolen produced 54.4 of his 69.9 career fWAR. McGwire's at-bats were must-watch TV for nearly a decade, and he fully captivated the nation for a summer in 1998. He won eight Gold Gloves and finished his career with a .313 average and 383 home runs. The latest in the sports world, emailed daily. A-Rods unpopularity with the public and his suspensions for PED use means hell likely require a ticket to visit Cooperstown for the forseeable future. That came 10 years after he clubbed 51 for the Giants in 1955, the longest stretch between 50-homer seasons for any player. Groat won the 1960 batting title with a .325 average and was a five-time All-Star. He finished with 399 career home runs, 2,333 hits and six top-10 MVP finishes. The 1978 AL Rookie of the Year played all 19 years of his career with the Tigers. Ichiro is only renting space on this list. He was a four-time All-Star and received MVP votes in eight consecutive seasons from 1938 to 1945. He finished with a career record of 193-121 but had an ERA of 4.04. Grace batted over .300 nine times and over.295 three more times. 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. In 1985, at the age of 38, he enjoyed a revival when he hit 40 home runs. 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. 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. Bold indicates active player. 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. The highest batting average for an ELIGIBLE player is Lefty O'Doul, 6th place overall, at .3493. Despite the tragedy, Mays had a very productive 15-year career. A rare switch-hitting catcher, Simmons held the National League record for switch-hit home runs at any position when he retired with 182. Despite his 119-121 record, Vander Meer consistently received over 20 percent of the votes in Hall of Fame balloting throughout hiseligibility. Still, he finished his career with a .303 average and six All-Star games. Those players attract a lot of attention and discussion, which takes away from the examination of a career like Teixeira's. However, the numbers speak for themselves. 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. 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. His support waned from there, though. 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. Dave Orr-hit .342 but only played 8 seasons, so he isn't eligible for the Hall. 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. Pinson's career is somewhat overshadowed by the contemporaries he played against as an outfielder in the 1960s and 1970s. Ryan was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1999. The 1945 NL MVP, Cavarretta played more seasons with the Cubs than anybody in the 20th century. He was the 1972 MVP and a seven-time All-Star. Here are the 25 best hitters in Major League Baseball history. Kuenn won the AL Rookie of the Year in 1953, then led all shortstops in putouts and assists the following year. Rolen ended his career playing for the Cincinnati Reds at the age of 37. Walker batted .357 between 1997 and 2001, leading the National League in batting three of the four years in which he was eligible. In DiMaggio's 11 seasons, he made the All-Star game seven times and received MVP votes in six seasons. Allen is a divisive figure when it comes to the Hall of Fame debate. His percentage was higher than seven eventual Hall of Famers, including Duke Snider, Phil Rizzuto, Richie Ashburn and Don Drysdale. His 385 career home runs are the 10th-highest total for any American League right-handed batter. His .564 slugging percentage ranks 14th all time. He grades well in baseball-reference.com's Hall of Fame Career Standards. Minoso is a player whose importance transcends hisaccomplishmentson the diamond. He led the National League in hits in both 1961 and 1963. As a result, his final career numbers don't match up with the great pitchers of his generation. However, while Smith was an excellent and feared closer, he doesn't have the hardware you'd expect. + - Indicates Hall of Famer. That can happen when you play during the same time as Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle, Duke Snider, Roberto Clemente and Frank Robinson. There were two main rules in making this slideshow. He is best known for his role in one of baseball's greatest tragedies. Gonzalez was suspected of steroid abuse and was named in Jose Canseco's book Juiced. Garvey received 42.6 percent of the vote, more than eventual Hall of Famers Jim Rice, Bruce Sutter and Ron Santo. "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 has just two years left on the ballot but figures to have a tough time cracking through against stiff competition the next two seasons. 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. McNally may have had a short peak with the Baltimore Orioles, but what a peak it was. Bartell didn't have the hitting prowess of Cobb, but he did have a fine career nevertheless. 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. Discussion of suicide or self-harm is not tolerated and will result in an immediate ban. He won eight Gold Gloves and had four MVP top-10 finishes. 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. Minoso also led the league in "hit by pitch" 10 times, and his 192 plunkings ranks ninth all time. Second, a player has to be eligible for induction. He was the starting pitcher in the 1956 All-Star Game on a team featuring Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra. He led the league in the category five times, including 1919 and 1920 when he registered WHIPs below 1.000. He led the American League in at-bats seven times and took advantage to pile up over 2,700 hits only 37 of which were home runs. Glasscock got his start during baseball's infancy in 1879 as a shortstop for the Cleveland Blues. His 39-game hitting streak in 1987 is the longest . 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. 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. 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. He had at least 190 strikeouts in a season 10 times and won 20 games twice. He received MVP votes in eight seasons, finishing in the top 10 in six of those years. He also didn't have a great batting average. His Hall of Fame case remains one of the most controversial and hes been bypassed by the Veterans Committee four times. When Cone was on his game, there were few pitchers with better stuff during his era. Cross was a deadball era standout from 1887 to 1907, who played most of his career in Philadelphia. He went 208-126 with a 2.92 ERA and twice led the league in complete games, shutouts and saves. Let's put Ichiro in the Hall of Fame. 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. Home Runs. He is responsible for one of the game's greatest accomplishments, though, pitching back-to-back no-hitters in 1938. The 1969 Cy Young award winner, Cuellar won 20 games four times and finished his career with 185 wins. He is also one of the few multiple MVP winners who has been left out of Cooperstown. Although his case was one of 10 reviewed by a special committee in 2008, Ferrell's numbers fell short. Harder spent 20 seasons hurling for the Indians and was at his best in the mid-1930s. 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. He has a .279 average with a .350 OBP, 435 home runs, 1,587 RBIs and 312 steals to go along with nine. From 1984 to 1989 "Donnie Baseball" was the most prolific hitter in baseball. Blue burst onto the scene as a 21-year-old in 1971, his first full season in the majors. Colavito topped 30 homers seven times, including a league-leading 42 in 1959. Whitaker was a solid all-around player for the Tigers, but never really excelled in any one area on an elite level. now in the modern age batting average is deemed pretty meaningless by Saber metrics. 300 career average used to be an important part of an Hall of fame career. He finished fifth in the AL MVP voting on three separate occasions. Please check your email for a confirmation. During his eight seasons in pinstripes, he went 131-60 with a 3.30 ERA. 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 . 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. 97. Oliver bounced around on seven different teams during his career, but wherever he went, he flat out hit. Stanton. Lolich enjoyed a solid career spent mostly with the Detroit Tigers, but his exploits in the 1968 World Series are his legacy. Oliva finished third in Hall of Fame voting in 1988, receiving 47.3 percent of vote. 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. Shocker was a workhorse for the Browns and Yankees from 1916 to 1928. Williams was one of the National League's first great home run hitters. 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. The highest number of games he played in after the age of 29 was 109 in 1951. He was a two-time NLCS MVP. Best 3 Year Period. Although he never really had that true great season, he was the mark of consistency for two decades. From age 26 to 28, DiMaggio served during World War II, losing three peak seasons serving overseas as many players of his era did. Ryan racked up over 2,500 hits playing mostly for the Chicago Colts as the 19th century came to a close. One of Wood's most incredible stats is that in 1,434 career innings pitched, he allowed just 10 home runs. O'Doul actually is in the Baseball Hall of Fame, just not the one in Cooperstown. Thome played 22 years in the league. From 1973 to the conclusion of the 2017 season, only nine players appeared in 1,000 or more games at DH. 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. 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 2,139 hits as a Cub were second only to 19th century legend Cap Anson on the Cubs' all-time list. Top 3 Seaons. Negro League data is not complete. There's a legitimate case for him to garner support on the Hall of Fame ballot. One of the great power and speed combination players of all time, Bonds was just the second player to ever hit 300 home runs and steal 300 bases in a career, joining Willie Mays in that group. Sain was robbed of three prime years when he served in World War II, contributing to a short peak as a star pitcher. The two-time World Series champion finished with 2,326 career hits. Of the 244 Hall of Famers, 83 fall in this range. 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. 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. 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. Palmeiros steroid use led to everyone discounting his monstrous numbers. Ryan authored his sixth no-hitter in 1990 and followed with his seventh a year later at the age of 44. For medical advice, always consult your medical doctor. Usually when you finish your career as the all-time leader in a major category, you are a lock for the Hall of Fame. He had four top-four finishes in Cy Young award voting, winning the award unanimously in 1988. It was one of the truly remarkable runs of success in the decade. Guidry turned in one of the great pitching seasons of all time when he went 25-3 in 1978 with a 1.78 ERA. Tiant made three All-Star games and had two top-10 MVP finishes. As of this writing, Cabrera was also just one homer away from No. His .248 career batting average and status as a "compiler" are his main detractors. In 1910, he led the A's to a World Series title with a 31-9 record and a 1.30 ERA. 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. With Ron Santo's election to the Hall of Fame, many now feel that Boyer is the best third baseman not enshrined in Cooperstown. He was the 1910 batting champion and was one of the top hitters on the Phillies during the first years of the 20th century. Career statistics/162: .306 BA, 7 HR, 79 RBI, 5 . . More about data coverage Share & Export However, he remarkably made it back, and he was better than before. Starting in 1953, Pierce made the All-Star game seven out of the next nine years and received MVP votes in five seasons. Look for your favorite MLB slugger in this impressive list of baseball's top 500 career batting leaders. Two of those former members came close to Emeritus Member status Ivan Rodriguez and Albert Pujols. He finished in the top 10 in MVP voting in each of his first four full seasons and six times overall. McInnis was an excellent, fundamentally sound first baseman in the early part of the 20th century for the A's and Red Sox. The three-time 20-game winner finished his career with a 170-91 record for a .651 winning percentage, good for 27th all time. He finished his 14-year career with 2,089 hits and a .298 career average. His career average was .300 and he ranks as the sixth-best first baseman in Florida history in Baseball State by State. It was the same year that Old Hoss Radbourn won 59 games. From the time he broke into the league in 1986, Clark was one of the top hitters in the National League. 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. A terrific run-producer, Cooper led the league in RBIs twice and doubles twice. Suttles earned five All-Star nods as part of a 23-year Hall of Fame . That being said, here are the top 100 eligible players not in the MLB Hall of Fame. 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. 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. That's no small task when his staffmates were Hall of Famers Eddie Plank, Chief Bender, Herb Pennock and Stan Coveleski. Through the 1988 season, it looked like Hershiser was on his way to a truly elite pitching career. 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. Here are three players who hit 400 HRs and won't make it into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. 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