Getting On Base…But, Not Really
Just having some fun with Baseball-Reference.com’s Play Index Batting Season Finder…
Do you know how many batters, in all of baseball history, have seasons with 200+ hits and 35+ walks - yet had an OBA of .340 or below? Here’s the answer:
Cnt Player Year H BB OBP Age Tm Lg G PA AB R 2B 3B HR RBI IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA SLG OPS Positions +----+-----------------+----+---+---+-----+---+---+--+---+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+--+-----+-----+-----+---------+ 1 Michael Young 2003 204 36 .339 26 TEX AL 160 713 666 106 33 9 14 72 1 103 1 3 7 14 13 2 .306 .446 .785 *4/6 2 Bobby Richardson 1962 209 37 .337 26 NYY AL 161 754 692 99 38 5 8 59 1 24 1 20 4 13 11 9 .302 .406 .743 *4 3 Doc Cramer 1940 200 36 .340 34 BOS AL 150 712 661 94 27 12 1 51 0 29 1 14 0 13 3 5 .303 .384 .724 *897
Just three batters - in the history of baseball. That tells you this is pretty hard to do. All three times, it happened in the A.L. - and it’s only happened once in the last 45 years. Way to go Michael Young.
This made me wonder how many guys have had 200+ hits, but hit below .300 - it’s an interesting list:
1 Jimmy Rollins 2007 212 .296
2 Juan Pierre 2006 204 .292
3 Bill Buckner 1985 201 .299
4 Buddy Bell 1979 200 .299
5 Dave Cash 1974 206 .29985
6 Ralph Garr 1973 200 .299
7 Matty Alou 1970 201 .297
8 Lou Brock 1967 206 .299
9 Maury Wills 1962 208 .299
10 Jo-Jo Moore 1935 201 .295
Jimmy Rollins broke the record this year for most hits ever (1871-2007) without hitting .300. The record he broke was set by Maury Wills the same year he stole 104 bases.
Comment by Mike Minetti — November 3, 2007 @ 3:38 pm
Michael Young is ranked above A-Rod in the Elias rankings. In fact, he’s the #1 SS/2B/3B!
Comment by vonhayes — November 3, 2007 @ 3:53 pm