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List of Major League Baseball players with a .400 batting average in a season

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A man, wearing a baseball cap with the Detroit Tigers' Old English "D" logo in the center and an off-white baseball uniform with obscured lettering, faces forward towards the right.
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Oscar Charleston, Ty Cobb, Ed Delahanty and Rogers Hornsby (left to right) are the only players to record a .400 batting average in three different seasons.

In baseball, batting average (AVG) is a measure of a batter's success rate in achieving a hit during an at bat,[1] and is calculated by dividing a player's hits by his at bats.[2] The achievement of a .400 batting average in a season was historically recognized as the coveted "standard of hitting excellence",[3] in light of how batting .300 in a season is already regarded as very good.[4][5] There have been 50 officially-recognized instances of a player have recorded a batting average of at least .400 in a single Major League Baseball (MLB) season,[A] but none have done so since 1943, when Josh Gibson of the Homestead Grays hit .466, the single-season record. In the National League, the last to do so was Bill Terry of the New York Giants in 1930. Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox is the last player to hit .400 in the American League. Four players – Ed Delahanty, Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby and Oscar Charleston – have accomplished the feat in three different seasons,[6][7] Ross Barnes was the first player to bat .400 in a season, posting a .429 batting average in the National League's inaugural 1876 season.[8][9]

In total, 36 players have reached the .400 mark in MLB history and seven have done so more than once. Of these, eighteen were left-handed batters, seventeen were right-handed, and one was a switch hitter, meaning they could bat from either side of the plate. Two of these players (Terry and Williams) played for only one major league team. The Philadelphia Phillies are the only franchise to have three players reach the milestone in the same season: Ed Delahanty, Billy Hamilton, Sam Thompson, all of whom Hall of Fame outfielders who attained a batting average over .400 during the 1894 season. The Homestead Grays are the only franchise with four players recording a .400 single-season batting average, albeit in different years: Joe Strong (1932), Josh Gibson (1937, 1943), Buck Leonard (1938) and David Whatley (1939) all hit .400 while playing for the Grays. Three players won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award in the same year as their .400 season: Ty Cobb (1911), George Sisler (1922) and Rogers Hornsby (1925).[10] Rap Dixon, Tip O'Neill, Nap Lajoie, Josh Gibson (twice), Willie Wells, Mule Suttles, Oscar Charleston (twice), Heavy Johnson and Rogers Hornsby (twice) also earned the Triple Crown alongside achieving a .400 batting average, leading their respective leagues in batting average, home runs and runs batted in (RBI).[11] Shoeless Joe Jackson of the Cleveland Naps hit .408 in 1911, the highest batting average ever recorded by a rookie in the American League. Joe Strong has the lowest career batting average among players who have batted .400 in a season with .266, while Gibson – with .372 – recorded the highest career average in major league history.[12]

Given the decades that have elapsed since Gibson became the last player to achieve the feat and the integral changes to the way the game of baseball is played since then – such as the increased utilization of specialized relief pitchers[13] – a writer for The Washington Post called the mark "both mystical and unattainable".[14] Consequently, modern day attempts to reach the hallowed mark by Rod Carew (.388 in 1977), George Brett (.390 in 1980) and Tony Gwynn (.394 in the strike-shortened 1994 season) have generated considerable hype among fans and in the media.[15][16][17] Of the thirty-six players who have batted .400 in a season, twenty-one have been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, two of which on the first ballot.[18] Five players are ineligible for not having played 10 seasons in their major league career, leaving only nine eligible .400 hitters not elected to the Hall of Fame. Shoeless Joe Jackson remains permanently ineligible for the Hall of Fame due to his ban from organized baseball in 1921 for his involvement in the Black Sox Scandal.[19][20]

Players

[edit]
Ross Barnes batted .429 in 1876, the first season in major league history.
Hugh Duffy set a National League record in 1894 that has never been matched with a .440 batting average.
Nap Lajoie's .426 batting average in 1901 remains the highest in American League history.
Shoeless Joe Jackson batted .408 in 1911, the highest mark ever set by a rookie in the American League.
Josh Gibson is the most recent player to hit .400 in a season, batting a record .466 in 1943.
Key
Year The year of the player's .400 season
Player (X) Name of the player and number of .400 seasons they had at that point
Team The player's team for his .400 season
NL National League
AL American League
AA American Association
UA Union Association
NN2 Negro National League
ANL American Negro League
NAL Negro American League
ECL Eastern Colored League
EWL East-West League
AVG The player's batting average in that season[B]
Career AVG The player's batting average in his MLB career[B]
§ Denotes batting average that was part of a Triple Crown season
† Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame
MLB players who have batted .400 in a season
Year Player Team League AVG Career AVG Ref
1876 Ross Barnes Chicago White Stockings NL .429 .319 [21]
1884 Fred Dunlap St. Louis Maroons UA .412[a] .292 [22]
1887 Tip O'Neill St. Louis Browns AA .435§ .326 [23]
1887 Pete Browning Louisville Colonels AA .402 .341 [24]
1894 Hugh Duffy† Boston Beaneaters NL .440 .326 [25]
1894 Sam Thompson† Philadelphia Phillies NL .415 .331 [26]
1894 Ed Delahanty† Philadelphia Phillies NL .405 .346 [27]
1894 Billy Hamilton† Philadelphia Phillies NL .403 .344 [28]
1895 Jesse Burkett† Cleveland Spiders NL .405 .338 [29]
1895 Ed Delahanty† (2) Philadelphia Phillies NL .404 .346 [27]
1896 Jesse Burkett† (2) Cleveland Spiders NL .410 .338 [29]
1896 Hughie Jennings† Baltimore Orioles NL .401 .312 [30]
1897 Willie Keeler† Baltimore Orioles NL .424 .341 [31]
1899 Ed Delahanty† (3) Philadelphia Phillies NL .410 .346 [27]
1901 Nap Lajoie† Philadelphia Athletics AL .426§ .338 [32]
1911 Ty Cobb† Detroit Tigers AL .419 .366 [33]
1911 Shoeless Joe Jackson Cleveland Naps AL .408 .356 [34]
1912 Ty Cobb† (2) Detroit Tigers AL .409 .366 [33]
1920 George Sisler† St. Louis Browns AL .407 .340 [35]
1921 Charlie Blackwell St. Louis Giants NNL .432 .326 [36]
1921 Oscar Charleston† St. Louis Stars NNL .434 .363 [37]
1922 Heavy Johnson Kansas City Monarchs NNL .406 .370 [38]
1922 George Sisler† (2) St. Louis Browns AL .420 .340 [35]
1922 Rogers Hornsby† St. Louis Cardinals NL .401§ .358 [39]
1922 Ty Cobb† (3) Detroit Tigers AL .401 .366 [33]
1923 Heavy Johnson (2) Kansas City Monarchs NNL .406§ .370 [40]
1923 Biz Mackey† Hilldale Club ECL .423 .325 [41]
1923 Harry Heilmann† Detroit Tigers AL .403 .342 [42]
1924 Rogers Hornsby† (2) St. Louis Cardinals NL .424 .358 [39]
1924 Oscar Charleston† (2) Harrisburg Giants ECL .405§ .363 [37]
1925 John Beckwith Baltimore Black Sox ECL .404 .349 [43]
1925 Oscar Charleston† (3) Harrisburg Giants ECL .427§ .363 [37]
1925 Rogers Hornsby† (3) St. Louis Cardinals NL .403§ .358 [39]
1925 Edgar Wesley Detroit Stars NNL .404 .320 [44]
1926 Mule Suttles† St. Louis Stars NNL .425§ .339 [45]
1927 Red Parnell Birmingham Black Barons NNL .422 .331 [46]
1927 Jud Wilson† Baltimore Black Sox / New York Lincoln Giants ECL .422 .350 [47]
1928 Rap Dixon Baltimore Black Sox ECL .401§ .336 [48]
1929 Rap Dixon (2) Baltimore Black Sox ANL .415 .336 [49]
1929 Chino Smith New York Lincoln Giants ANL .451 .398 [50]
1929 Jud Wilson† (2) Baltimore Black Sox ANL .404 .350 [51]
1930 Willie Wells† St. Louis Stars NNL .413§ .328 [52]
1930 Bill Terry† New York Giants NL .401§ .341 [53]
1932 Joe Strong Homestead Grays EWL .400 .266 [54]
1937 Josh Gibson† Homestead Grays NN2 .417§ .372 [55]
1938 Buck Leonard† Homestead Grays NN2 .420 .345 [56]
1939 Bill Hoskins Baltimore Elite Giants NN2 .408 .325 [57]
1939 David Whatley Cleveland Bears / Homestead Grays ANL / NN2 .407 .334 [58]
1941 Ted Williams† Boston Red Sox AL .406 .344 [59]
1943 Josh Gibson†(2) Homestead Grays NN2 .466§ .372 [60]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ All officially-recognized seasons must meet MLB's standards for plate appearances in order to qualify.
  2. ^ a b Expressed to three significant figures.
  1. ^ The Union Association did not track RBI during its single-season existence. Dunlap led the league in both batting average and home runs.

References

[edit]

General

  • "Single-Season Leaders & Records for Batting Average". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on January 3, 2017. Retrieved October 3, 2016.

Specific

  1. ^ "Guide to baseball". BBC News. BBC. Archived from the original on August 3, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
  2. ^ "Official Rules: 9.21 – Determining Percentage Records" (PDF). MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 4, 2016. Retrieved October 5, 2016.
  3. ^ Marshall, Brian. "The Three, or Was It Two, .400 Hitters of 1922". Baseball Research Journal. Society for American Baseball Research. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  4. ^ McNeal, Stan (August 29, 2014). "For major league hitters, .280 is the new .300". USA Today. Archived from the original on March 5, 2017. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  5. ^ Crouch, Ian (September 24, 2014). "The Death of the .300 Hitter". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on March 5, 2017. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  6. ^ Saccoman, John. "Ed Delahanty". The Baseball Biography Project. Society for American Baseball Research. Archived from the original on August 31, 2016. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  7. ^ "Rogers Hornsby". National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Archived from the original on July 12, 2011. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  8. ^ Appel, Marty (March 18, 1999). Slide, Kelly, Slide: The Wild Life and Times of Mike King Kelly. Scarecrow Press. p. 25. ISBN 9781461671206. Retrieved October 5, 2016.
  9. ^ Willis, Jasmine (November 11, 2015). "The legend the Baseball Hall of Fame forgot". Genesee Country Express. Archived from the original on November 16, 2015. Retrieved October 5, 2016.
  10. ^ "Most Valuable Player MVP Awards & Cy Young Awards Winners". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on January 9, 2010. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  11. ^ "Triple Crown Winners". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 6, 2011. Retrieved October 5, 2016.
  12. ^ "Career Leaders & Records for Batting Average". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 13, 2013. Retrieved October 5, 2016.
  13. ^ Brown, Justin (September 17, 2011). "Why no one bats .400 anymore". The Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on March 13, 2017. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
  14. ^ Svrluga, Barry (June 20, 2016). "Why batting .400 has become baseball's unhittable benchmark". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 22, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  15. ^ Singer, Tom (September 17, 2010). "Summer of .400: Brett looks back 30 years later". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Archived from the original on March 6, 2017. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  16. ^ Sanders, Jeff (August 4, 2014). "Gwynn's chase for .400 still revered". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on March 5, 2017. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  17. ^ Reusse, Patrick (December 24, 2016). "Twins should consider a celebration of Rod Carew's pursuit of .400". Minneapolis Star Tribune. Archived from the original on April 26, 2018. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  18. ^ "Baseball Hall of Fame Inductees". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on January 4, 2010. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  19. ^ Robinson, Mandrallius (September 1, 2015). "Shoeless Joe remains banned from MLB, Hall of Fame". The Greenville News. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  20. ^ "The Chicago Black Sox banned from baseball". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. November 19, 2003. Archived from the original on December 9, 2016. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  21. ^ "Ross Barnes Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 7, 2009. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  22. ^ "Fred Dunlap Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on January 29, 2017. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  23. ^ "Tip O'Neill Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on January 27, 2017. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  24. ^ "Pete Browning Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 22, 2016. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  25. ^ "Hugh Duffy Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on July 9, 2022. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  26. ^ "Sam Thompson Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on April 6, 2011. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  27. ^ a b c "Ed Delahanty Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on August 21, 2010. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  28. ^ "Billy Hamilton Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 20, 2023. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  29. ^ a b "Jesse Burkett Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on June 16, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  30. ^ "Hughie Jennings Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on November 30, 2016. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  31. ^ "Willie Keeler Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on July 9, 2022. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  32. ^ "Nap Lajoie Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on February 8, 2010. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  33. ^ a b c "Ty Cobb Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  34. ^ "Shoeless Joe Jackson Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on June 20, 2022. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  35. ^ a b "George Sisler Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on January 1, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  36. ^ "Charlie Blackwell Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  37. ^ a b c "Oscar Charleston Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on July 16, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  38. ^ "Heavy Johnson Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  39. ^ a b c "Rogers Hornsby Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on February 2, 2021. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
  40. ^ "Heavy Johnson Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  41. ^ "Biz Mackey Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on July 19, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  42. ^ "Harry Heilmann Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on July 9, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
  43. ^ "John Beckwith Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  44. ^ "Edgar Wesley Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  45. ^ "Mule Suttles Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on July 16, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  46. ^ "Roy Parnell Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on April 29, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  47. ^ "Jud Wilson Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on July 19, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  48. ^ "Rap Dixon Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  49. ^ "Rap Dixon Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on August 11, 2022. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  50. ^ "Rap Dixon". MLB.com. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
  51. ^ "Jud Wilson Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on July 19, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  52. ^ "Willie Wells Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
  53. ^ "Bill Terry Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on July 9, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
  54. ^ "Joe Strong". MLB.com. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
  55. ^ "Josh Gibson Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on July 16, 2022. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  56. ^ "Buck Leonard Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  57. ^ "Bill Hoskins Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  58. ^ "David Whatley Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  59. ^ "Ted Williams Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 28, 2018. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
  60. ^ "Josh Gibson Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on July 16, 2022. Retrieved July 15, 2022.

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