He finished in the top 10 in the National League in batting eight times. He finished fifth in the AL MVP voting on three separate occasions. Of his 310 career starts, 298 of them were complete games. Nettles was a superior defender who finished fifth and sixth in the American League MVP voting in 1977 and 1978, respectively. His 385 career home runs are the 10th-highest total for any American League right-handed batter. He had six 200-hit seasons and finished his 19-year career with a .294 lifetime average. According to not in WC! No advertising or spamming is permitted. 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. 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. In 1952 he made history by becoming the first African-American coach in the major leagues when he joined the Cubs coaching staff. He grades well in baseball-reference.com's Hall of Fame Career Standards. When the Cubs legend retired in 1947, he was arguably the best National League third baseman outside of Pie Traynor. The three-time All-Star went 217-191 for his career. He batted over .300 10 times and finished with a career average of .308. (Photo by JOHN G. MABANGLO/AFP via Getty Images). NEW! Dark was a solid player during the post-World War II era in the National League who later went on to become an excellent manager. He led the league in hits, doubles and triples twice each and finished his career with 2,757 hits. Cavarretta got excellent support in Hall of Fame balloting in the 1970s, peaking in 1975 when he received 35.6 percent of the vote. 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 won three Gold Glove awards and is known for having one of the great outfield arms of all time. There were two main rules in making this slideshow. Everybody concentrates on Gooden's squandered talent, and rightly so. He ended his career with a .293 average and 1,977 hits. Only Johnson won more games in a season since Wood's 34 wins in 1912. Hodges' 370 homers might not stand as too impressive today, but when he retired it marked the league's fourth-best career total. Smith's case is based on being very good and compiling stats over an 18-year career. 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. Brown was named in the Mitchell Report as a possible steroid user, but no hard evidence surfaced about his use. He ended with 2,712 hits, 1,493 RBI and a .290 average. Stanton. Garvey will likely be a strong Veterans Committee candidate years down the line. It is hard to argue that Beltran's resume is not Hall of Fame-worthy. Teixeira was a gifted defensive first baseman and is one of the best switch-hitters of all time. In terms of overall productivity, the sweet spot for the average Hall of Famer is a WAR between 50 and 70. Batting average: .440, Hugh Duffy, 1894 . He won the National League pitching triple crown in 1918 and finished with a career record of 178-137. The fact that Carter and Fisk were elected and Simmons lasted just one year on the ballot is just wrong. From 1988 to 1993, he batted .234 and averaged just 15 homers a season. Beltre put up amazing numbers before retiring after the 2018 season. Even though he hasn't played a Major League game in 109 years, Van Haltren still holds the National League record for reaching base in 60 straight games, accomplishing the feat in 1893. 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. From 1973 to the conclusion of the 2017 season, only nine players appeared in 1,000 or more games at DH. 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. Lopat didn't have the longevity to be seriously considered for the Hall of Fame. Doug Clark to be inducted in WMass Baseball Hall of Fame. 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. Note: Players are eligible for the Hall of Fame five years after they retire. career 300 hitters not in hall of fame. 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. Bill Buckner Only four players who are eligible for the Hall of Fame and not enshrined have more hits than Buckner's. He led the National League in batting in 1890 and was credited with being among the first shortstops to give defensive signals and backup second base on throws. He finished with a career record of 193-121 but had an ERA of 4.04. Tony Gwynn is now in the Hall of Fame. Discussion of suicide or self-harm is not tolerated and will result in an immediate ban. He finished his 14-year career with 2,089 hits and a .298 career average. McInnis was an excellent, fundamentally sound first baseman in the early part of the 20th century for the A's and Red Sox. The 1960 National League MVP teamed with Bill Mazeroski to form one of the best defensive middle infields of his era. He made eight straight All-Star games and received MVP votes in each of those years. Stephens also was an AL All-Star seven times. Foster's most famous season came in 1977 when he belted 52 home runs at a time when topping 50 homers meant something. Stephens led the AL in RBI twice and home runs once, but his production fell off considerably after the age of 29. Parker is one of those players who got much less recognition on the Hall of Fame ballot than he deserved. Reaching 3,000 hits, in our opinion, is a benchmark of true greatness that few will ever achieve. Pete Browning-.341 average. With Ron Santo's election to the Hall of Fame, many now feel that Boyer is the best third baseman not enshrined in Cooperstown. By. He won three batting titles, led the AL in hits five times and had two runner-up finishes in MVP voting. 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. White was the first-ever batter in National Association history. He won 20 games four times, but he also was one of the few post-WWII pitchers to lose 20 in a season. He threw over 500 innings five times, including 657 innings in 1880. 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. Still, he finished his career with a .303 average and six All-Star games. When Cone was on his game, there were few pitchers with better stuff during his era. Garvey received 42.6 percent of the vote, more than eventual Hall of Famers Jim Rice, Bruce Sutter and Ron Santo. However, as we'll see, he was an underrated performer as an offensive player. Gonzalez was suspected of steroid abuse and was named in Jose Canseco's book Juiced. His Hall of Fame case remains one of the most controversial and hes been bypassed by the Veterans Committee four times. 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. Maris was considered a power show more content He is still in the top 50 for career strikeouts and was the author of one of baseball's all-time greatest pitching seasons in 1985. He had more votes than players like Ralph Kiner, Chuck Klein, Lefty Grove and Lloyd Waner. Buckner won the 1980 NL batting title as a member of the Chicago Cubs and had two seasons of 200+ hits. 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. The Worst Starts To Hall Of Fame Careers. Through Aug. 13, 2020, 203 qualified players had batting averages over .300. He consistently finished in the top 10 for Hall of Fame voting, but he never cracked the 30 percent barrier. He won eight Gold Gloves and had four MVP top-10 finishes. This is the first story in a three-part series about . 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. Usually when you finish your career as the all-time leader in a major category, you are a lock for the Hall of Fame. Belle finished his career on a run of nine straight seasons of 100 RBI. After serving in the military, Boyer made his debut at the age of 24 and instantly became an impact player for the Cardinals. 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. An incredibly consistent and clutch performer, Williams is one of the most accomplished switch-hitters of all time. Total WAR. During that time, Harder made four straight All-Star games. Because of this and a quick downfall to his production after age 35, Hodges amassed only 1,921 hits. Here are the best Hall of Fame candidates at each position. 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. 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. Marty Dobrow | Special to MassLive. Morris is in a race against time and semantics in his quest to make it to Cooperstown. Mullane won 30 games five times. Everyone has their own opinion. For medical advice, always consult your medical doctor. With Clark in the fold, it's easy to think that another World Series flag, or two, would be flying at Kauffman. Gonzalez racked up his total over 19 seasonas and 10,531 major league plate appearances and led the. The highest batting average for an ELIGIBLE player is Lefty O'Doul, 6th place overall, at .3493. Walker batted .357 between 1997 and 2001, leading the National League in batting three of the four years in which he was eligible. Mattingly batted over .300 in each of his first six full seasons, leading the AL in 1984 with a .343 average. You won't find Pete Rose, Shoeless Joe or Eddie Cicotte on this list. Miguel Cabrera leads a group comfortably over .300 career 300 hitters not in hall of fame. His career average was .300 and he ranks as the sixth-best first baseman in Florida history in Baseball State by State. Baines was a pure hitter who would be a phenomenal candidate for the Hall of Compilers if there ever was such a thing. He was the 1980 National League batting champion and is one of only 16 players since World War II who have played in four decades. The star of the 1931 World Series, Martin was a four-time All-Star and twice was a top-10 MVP player. 7) Ken Griffey Jr.: 630 500th HR: June 20, 2004 O'Doul finished his career with a .349 batting average, still the fourth-best in major league history. Remarkably, he finished with 90 more votes than teammate Duke Snider who would go on to be elected in 1980. His 390 home runs ranks among the best for third basemen. His peak came in 1967 when he finished with 29 percent of the vote, ahead of 10 future Hall of Famers, including pitchers Hal Newhouser and Bob Lemon. The 1985 AL MVP was a prolific run-producer for the Yankees until a bad back sabotaged his power and longevity. generally a low batting average used to be a bad thing and the only way to make the hall as a sub 300 hitter used to be hitting 500+ home runs (killebrew). But when it came to hitting towering shots, no one was better than "Big Donkey." 1 1. career 300 hitters not in hall of fame . Some argue that he is the best player not enshrined in Cooperstown, while his detractors say he didn't play long enough and his surly attitude turned off a lot of people. 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. Garvey was a remarkably consistent and clutch performer for the great Dodgers teams for over a decade in the 1970s and 1980s. Williams was one of the National League's first great home run hitters. Tiant made three All-Star games and had two top-10 MVP finishes. He only led the league in saves four times in his 18-year career, and his 3.03 career ERA isn't sparkling for a closer. !rogermaris.com, Maris' career batting average was .260, which is minuscule compared to other greats like Hank Aaron and Ted Williams who both surpassed .300, that number being considered to be the gold standard for a hitter. Research is still ongoing and we'll continue to publish updates as more information becomes available. Evans played tremendous defense at third base and belted 414 career home runs, but received just eight votes the only year he appeared on the MLB Hall of Fame ballot. 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 played five years in the NA before the league morphed into the National League. + - Indicates Hall of Famer. Unlike Barry Bonds or Roger Clemens, people aren't lining up to say that McGwire was a Hall of Fame player before he took steroids. . Martin was a key member of the Gashouse Gang Cardinals and was known as one of the team's spark plugs thanks to his raucous play on the diamond. Herman was an excellent hitter in the 1920s and 1930s, even if he never did really break through to the elite level. Bridges was a fine pitcher for the Tigers starting in 1930 and running right up until he was called into service for World War II in 1944. The big draw for Maris' Hall of Fame case is obviously his 61 home runs in 1961. 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. 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. Morris' best argument for enshrinement may be that he was the American League's winningest pitcher of the 1980s and the respected staff ace for a lengthy period of time. However, the big man known as "Mule" also batted for a high average, regularly hitting between .300 and .400 each season. He was one of the better fielding second basemen of his time. First, a player had to play a majority of their games in the 1900s. He received MVP votes seven times, finishing second in 1987. NL in hits in 1999 with 206. Reynolds got his start in the majors as a solid pitcher for the Indians in the 1940s. While he was one of the best players in the league during that time, he didn't maintain that excellence for a long period of time. He was up for Hall of Fame consideration in 2008, but he fell short of enshrinement once again. Brown has a better winning percentage than Bob Gibson, Steve Carlton and Don Drysdale, and his strikeout-to-walk ratio is better than Ton Seaver, Warren Spahn, Nolan Ryan, Gibson and Carlton. He collected 3,166 career hits, which included 636 doubles and 477 home runs. The four-time Gold Glove winner finished with a .977 fielding percentage, which ranks 23rd all time at shortstop. Dunn finished his career with a lowly .234 batting average. His percentage was higher than seven eventual Hall of Famers, including Duke Snider, Phil Rizzuto, Richie Ashburn and Don Drysdale. As a result, his final career numbers don't match up with the great pitchers of his generation. He didn't top 100 strikeouts in any of his final 11 seasons. Ryan racked up over 2,500 hits playing mostly for the Chicago Colts as the 19th century came to a close. He is best known for his role in one of baseball's greatest tragedies. However, Smith does have a case that puts him in the Hall of Fame discussion. "Any hitter can hit a fast one. 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. Williams got moderate support on the Hall of Fame ballot on a few occasions. Parrish was considered one of the top all-around catchers of the 1980s along with Gary Carter, Carlton Fisk and Ted Simmons. He had four top-four finishes in Cy Young award voting, winning the award unanimously in 1988. But it also just underscored the difficulty of racking up big hit totals, particularly in the age of the three true outcomes (homer, strikeout, walk). 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. Raines' candidacy has been gaining momentum in the past few seasons, and it seems that one day he will take his place in Cooperstown. Hes first eligible for Cooperstown in 2024. 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. He was a two-time NLCS MVP. It was one of the truly remarkable runs of success in the decade. The brother of Hall of Fame catcher Rick Ferrell, Wes was a workhorse pitcher mostly for the Indians and Red Sox before World War II. In 2012, his second year, Bagwell received 56 percent of the vote to finish in third place. Bartell received MVP votes in six seasons, finishing as high as sixth in 1937. He was a key member of the Yankees during the Mickey Mantle era. Career statistics/162: .306 BA, 7 HR, 79 RBI, 5 . 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. Uh, let me try to explain. But the truth is he ended up having a productive career after all. He finished with 2,210 career hits and played excellent defense. 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). 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. His career average of .320 ranks fifth. 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 righty went 48-16 and struck out 417 batters in 587 innings. 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. For the kind of player Raines was, that should not keep him out of the Hall of Fame. Like Dale Murphy, he consistently gets dinged for having too short of a peak. https://thelistwire.usatoday.com/lists/20-mlb-players-with-the-most-hits-not-in-the-hall-of-fame-pete-rose-joey-votto-cooperstown/, These players have a lot of hits, but no plaque, The fastest 40 times in NFL combine history, In memoriam: Celebrities who have died in 2022, 50 largest cities in the United States by population 2022, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. He received Cy Young award votes in five seasons, winning it in 1994. Reynolds helped the Yankees to six World Series titles, racking up a 7-2 record with a 2.79 ERA over 15 World Series games. 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. Colavito was a great power hitter and run producer in the 1950s who received surprisingly little support in his Hall of Fame candidacy. Clark to be inducted in WMass Baseball Hall of Fame State by State a to. 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