The star of the 1931 World Series, Martin was a four-time All-Star and twice was a top-10 MVP player. | Brian Kersey/Getty Images Take the case of former Phoenix high school legend, Paul Konerko. Claim to fame: Quietly, Oliver may have been one of the best hitters of the 1970s and '80s, amassing 2,743 hits and a .303 lifetime batting average, hitting above .300 eleven of his 18 seasons. He was a seven-time All-Star. Bill Mazeroski was a career .260 hitter. Like Dale Murphy, he consistently gets dinged for having too short of a peak. 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. Predictably, he ran into arm trouble after that and his career numbers suffered as a result. Staub was an excellent player early in his career, and by the age of 27, he was already a five-time All-Star. Palmeiro topped 30 home runs 11 times and batted over .300 six times. He made seven straight All-Star games in the 1980s and has three top-seven MVP finishes. All other pitchers in that category who are eligible are in the Hall of Fame as well. He also didn't have a great batting average. It is hard to argue that Beltran's resume is not Hall of Fame-worthy. McGwire was a 12-time All-Star, finished in the top seven in MVP voting seven times and was the 1987 Rookie of the Year after belting 49 home runs, an MLB-record for rookies. 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. He ranks higher than pitchers like Catfish Hunter, Don Drysdale and Jim Bunning in that category. Below is the list of 254 Major League Baseball players who have reached the 2,000 hit milestone during their career in MLB. 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 led the league in hits, doubles and triples twice each and finished his career with 2,757 hits. The fact that Carter and Fisk were elected and Simmons lasted just one year on the ballot is just wrong. His Hall of Fame case remains one of the most controversial and hes been bypassed by the Veterans Committee four times. 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. He won eight Gold Gloves and finished his career with a .313 average and 383 home runs. Sain was robbed of three prime years when he served in World War II, contributing to a short peak as a star pitcher. In the World Series, he hit .529 in a four-game sweep at the hands of the Reds. 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. Hernandez played first base with the range of a middle infielder. He has increased his totals in each of the past three elections and was up to 48.7 percent in 2012. He batted .398 that season and led the league with a .465 on-base percentage. Here are the 25 best hitters in Major League Baseball history. In baseball, the batting average (BA) is defined by the number of hits divided by at bats. The list includes everyone from John Kruk, a 10-year veteran who hit .302, to Tigers legend Ty Cobb, who hit an MLB-record .366. All four won at least 20 games in 1971. Rube Marquard was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1971. Maris' lifetime numbers simply don't stack up, as he tailed off dramatically after the age of 29. Before dying in a plane crash, Munson was the 1970 Rookie of the Year, 1976 AL MVP, a seven-time All-Star and a leader on the 1977 and 1978 Yankees' World Series championship teams. Almost every eligible candidate who had a career .300 batting average, 2,500 hits and 300 home runs has been enshrined. McNally may have had a short peak with the Baltimore Orioles, but what a peak it was. Bagwell led the NL in home runs in 1996, scored 100 runs nine times and drove in 100 runs eight times. Magee was one of 10 pre-1943 players who came under consideration for enshrinement in 2008, but he fell short. Helton is one of only two players in baseball history to have at least. He was the 1972 MVP and a seven-time All-Star. NEW! Lopat didn't have the longevity to be seriously considered for the Hall of Fame. Bagwell has vehemently denied taking steroids, but that hasn't stopped voters from having their doubts. He is responsible for one of the game's greatest accomplishments, though, pitching back-to-back no-hitters in 1938. His wins total is among the highest of anybody not elected to the Hall of Fame. Stephens led the AL in RBI twice and home runs once, but his production fell off considerably after the age of 29. Before that, O'Doul had some great seasons as a left fielder after being converted from a pitcher at the age of 31. A. Indeed, only 33 men are members of the elite 3,000-Hit Club. The four-time Gold Glove winner finished with a .977 fielding percentage, which ranks 23rd all time at shortstop. Parker falls short of the magic numbers needed for induction, though. 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. For the kind of player Raines was, that should not keep him out of the Hall of Fame. If Wood didn't sustain an injury to the thumb on his pitching hand in 1913, he very well could have been mentioned along with Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson as the top pitchers of baseball's early years. Root was allegedly the pitcher who gave up Babe Ruth's "called shot," which often overshadows an excellent career. The 1964 NL MVP was a seven-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove winner. From age 26 to 28, DiMaggio served during World War II, losing three peak seasons serving overseas as many players of his era did. Hes first eligible for Cooperstown in 2024. 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. He finished his career with a .307 batting average. He was a key piece in four World Series titles for the Yankees, delivering numerous clutch hits along the way. Mays was a sidearming spitball pitcher who pitched for four teams in the early 20th century. O'Doul actually is in the Baseball Hall of Fame, just not the one in Cooperstown. Not only was he able to go far to his left and right, but he charged the bunt as well as anyone and had range back into foul territory. Out of all eligible players, only Vada Pinson and Harold Baines have had more and not been voted into the Hall of Fame. But others are there for good. He won at least 20 games four straight seasons, finished in the top four of the Cy Young voting for three straight years and placed fifth in the AL MVP voting in 1968. In an era dominated by the long ball, Grace was a consistent .300 hitter who played an outstanding defensive first base. Baseball Hall of Fame after playing much of his career as a designated hitter. 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. If in doubt, leave it out. Usually when you finish your career as the all-time leader in a major category, you are a lock for the Hall of Fame. 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. Needless to say, he won the NL MVP that season. HR Rank All Time. Stephens also was an AL All-Star seven times. 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. He has finished no worse than eighth in Hall of Fame voting in his three years on the ballot, topping 32 percent each time. As a player, Palmeiro should have received automatic first-ballot induction into Cooperstown after compiling over 3,000 hits and 500 home runs in his 20-year career. Tiant made three All-Star games and had two top-10 MVP finishes. Discussion of suicide or self-harm is not tolerated and will result in an immediate ban. Wood led the Red Sox to the 1912 World Series behind a record of 34-5. He still holds the Reds' franchise records for most wins by a righty with 161, and his 579 games pitched ranked eighth in NL history when he retired in 1945 after a 15-year career. He lasted just five years before falling off after getting just 4.8 percent of the vote in 2011. He batted over .300 seven times and was known for having fantastic range at shortstop. He was a two-time NLCS MVP. He finished with a career record of 193-121 but had an ERA of 4.04. Cavarretta got excellent support in Hall of Fame balloting in the 1970s, peaking in 1975 when he received 35.6 percent of the vote. Like many others,. Parrish was one of the keys to the Tigers' 1984 World Series team, finishing third in the AL with 33 home runs that year. According to not in WC! Murphy was hurt by a severe drop-off in production after the age of 31. Backup: Ken Singleton 8) Ted Simmons -- Catcher 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. John was another compiler, but the fact that he was able to stick around long enough to compile those statistics is incredible in itself. Incidentally, Hodges finished fourth again in 1980, this time ahead of nine future Hall of Famers. That came 10 years after he clubbed 51 for the Giants in 1955, the longest stretch between 50-homer seasons for any player. He played five years in the NA before the league morphed into the National League. Like Dave McNally, who appeared earlier on this list, Cuellar had a terrific, but brief, peak as a pitcher for the great Orioles' staff of the 1970s. There has been a "rule of thumb" in baseball for quite some time that any player who accumulates 3000 hits in his career will be elected to the Hall of Fame. More about data coverage Share & Export He got moderate support for his Hall of Fame candidacy, peaking in 1988 when he finished fifth in the voting with 43.1 percent, better than Hall of Famers Ron Santo and Bill Mazeroski. Even for people who think Smith was better than Trammell, it wasn't as much as their Hall of Fame ballot gaps suggest. A young and promising Derringer was traded from the Cardinals to the Reds in 1932 for Hall of Famer Leo Durocher, and he would go on to become one of the great Reds pitchers of all time. Playing during a time when second basemen weren't asked to even think about home runs, Grich hit with the power of a corner infielder while playing Gold Glove-caliber second base for the Orioles and Angels. He was also the premier first baseman in his league (the National League) while he was playing. Pinson was a very good all-around player, though, even if he wasn't in the class of those immortals. But when he did play, Sain was among the best for a short period for the Boston Braves. Baseballs collusion case in the mid-80s brought an early end to his career. One of Wood's most incredible stats is that in 1,434 career innings pitched, he allowed just 10 home runs. Pinson is a somewhat forgotten star of the 1960s Reds and a great bat to have atop the lineup. Bonds . Travis played in just 226 games after returning from the war, though, batting just .241 over that time. Oliver accumulated 2,743 hits in his career. He didn't top 100 strikeouts in any of his final 11 seasons. Hodges lost three years early in his career to World War II, causing his breakout as a player to be delayed until he was 25 years old. Caruthers pitched for three teams from 1884 to 1892 and was a two-time 40-game winner. An incredibly consistent and clutch performer, Williams is one of the most accomplished switch-hitters of all time. Bonds was a two-time Gold Glove winner and had two top-five finishes in MVP voting. career 300 hitters not in hall of fame. He had a WHIP under 1.200 an incredible 12 times during his career. Minoso also led the league in "hit by pitch" 10 times, and his 192 plunkings ranks ninth all time. Vaughn middled around during the first six years of his career before winning 21 games for the Cubs in 1914. 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