One of the great clutch hitters of his era, Martinez finished with a .312 career average and topped 500 doubles and 300 homers in his 18-year career. Parrish was one of the keys to the Tigers' 1984 World Series team, finishing third in the AL with 33 home runs that year. There were two main rules in making this slideshow. However, while Smith was an excellent and feared closer, he doesn't have the hardware you'd expect. From 1973 to the conclusion of the 2017 season, only nine players appeared in 1,000 or more games at DH. "Any hitter can hit a fast one. He is best known for his role in one of baseball's greatest tragedies. O'Doul finished his career with a .349 batting average, still the fourth-best in major league history. 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. The two-time AL MVP finished his career with 434 home runs and a career batting average of .292. Wood received 29 votes in the 1947 Hall of Fame voting, the most of any player who still hasn't been elected. But when it came to hitting towering shots, no one was better than "Big Donkey." 1 1. However, the big man known as "Mule" also batted for a high average, regularly hitting between .300 and .400 each season. He was a four-time All-Star and received MVP votes in eight consecutive seasons from 1938 to 1945. 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. Incidentally, Hodges finished fourth again in 1980, this time ahead of nine future Hall of Famers. Just 16 hitters have a career .300 average with 10,000-plus PA; Ichiro stole 509 bases in his career. But others are there for good. Below is the list of 254 Major League Baseball players who have reached the 2,000 hit milestone during their career in MLB. Vander Meer had a losing record over the course of his career, and that will likely keep him out of the Hall of Fame. 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. Only Johnson won more games in a season since Wood's 34 wins in 1912. NL in hits in 1999 with 206. Thome played 22 years in the league. Stephens was one of the top hitting shortstops of the 1940s and received MVP votes for nine straight seasons from 1942 to 1951. It is not quite a three-hour drive from Caton to Cooperstown. From 1996-2006, through his age-31 season, Rolen produced 54.4 of his 69.9 career fWAR. Backup: Ken Singleton 8) Ted Simmons -- Catcher He also won five Gold Gloves, had two top-three MVP finishes and ended his career with 200 home runs, when that meant something as a catcher. Votto's career .303 batting average and career .932 OPS also is good enough to be a HOF. Tiant twice led the league with ERAs under 2.00, but he also had five years with an ERA over 4.00. He ranked fifth in all-time hits when he retired. A career .303 hitter, Daubert accumulated 2,326 hits in his 15-year career and is the National League's all-time leader in sacrifice hits with 392. He made eight straight All-Star games and received MVP votes in each of those years. He received 55 votes in the 2012 Hall of Fame voting, his first year on the ballot. Bartell didn't have the hitting prowess of Cobb, but he did have a fine career nevertheless. Ferrell pitched 85 complete games over a three-year span in the mid-1930s. Needless to say, he won the NL MVP that season. Heres a look at the 20 most prolific hitters who arent in the Hall of Fame. Before getting started on the modern ballplayers, here is a look at nine deserving players from the 1800s who haven't been inducted into the Hall of Fame. He finished with 254 career wins, finished in the top five in Cy Young voting five times and won 20 games three times. The two-time World Series champion finished with 2,326 career hits. Adams won 194 games during the dead-ball era for the Pirates and was an early master of WHIP. However, once Hershiser reached the age of 30, health issues set in and curtailed what could have been a Hall of Fame career. The others are Randy Johnson, Nolan Ryan and Sandy Koufax. 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. 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 made seven straight All-Star games in the 1980s and has three top-seven MVP finishes. 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. Despite his 119-121 record, Vander Meer consistently received over 20 percent of the votes in Hall of Fame balloting throughout hiseligibility. April 18, 2022 . Hes basically a forgotten star at this point. For eight straight years he made the AL All-Star team and finished in the top 20 for AL MVP voting. Travis was a popular shortstop and third baseman for the Washington Senators who missed four seasons of action when he was shipped off to fight in World War II just as he was reaching the prime of his career. Oliva was a terrific hitter for the Twins in the 1960s and 1970s. He is one of only four pitchers to strike out 300 batters in a season three times since 1900. Joe Morgan, Frankie Frisch, Eddie Collins, Roberto Alomar and Craig Biggio have led the way. White became the second batting champion ever in the National League when he hit .387 in 1877. He batted .298 for his career and won multiple Silver Slugger and Gold Glove awards. Stanton. He went 208-126 with a 2.92 ERA and twice led the league in complete games, shutouts and saves. Before a fine career as a manager, Kuenn was one of the top hitters in the majors during the 1950s and 1960s. After serving in the military, Boyer made his debut at the age of 24 and instantly became an impact player for the Cardinals. He might never have been a superstar, much of a defender, or someone I'd seriously consider voting into the Hall of Fame, but with 150 more hits, he'd probably have been a first ballot inductee. 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. Clark's career trajectory didn't continue on that path, though, as injuries robbed him of hundreds of games in the 1990s. In the World Series, he hit .529 in a four-game sweep at the hands of the Reds. He led the league in the category five times, including 1919 and 1920 when he registered WHIPs below 1.000. Minoso is a player whose importance transcends hisaccomplishmentson the diamond. 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. Groat won the 1960 batting title with a .325 average and was a five-time All-Star. He ranks second in hits, walks, runs scored and slugging percentage . In terms of overall productivity, the sweet spot for the average Hall of Famer is a WAR between 50 and 70. He won eight Gold Gloves and had four MVP top-10 finishes. He led the National League in hits in both 1961 and 1963. Galarraga transformed himself from a high-average, Gold Glove first baseman to a power-hitting masher after eight seasons in the league with a move to the Colorado Rockies. Although he never reached an elite level, he did stick around to compile some impressive stats. He received more votes than six eventual Hall of Famers. career 300 hitters not in hall of fame. His 1,330 walks ranks 36th all time and his 606 stolen bases ranks fifth. Second, a player has to be eligible for induction. He was a seven-time All-Star. Garvey will likely be a strong Veterans Committee candidate years down the line. He grades well in baseball-reference.com's Hall of Fame Career Standards. Reynolds got his start in the majors as a solid pitcher for the Indians in the 1940s. Brown won 21 games in 1992 and had an ERA under 3.00 six times during the steroids era. Allen played during the pitching-dominated 1960s and 1970s and still managed to top a 1.000 OPS three times. He has a .279 average with a .350 OBP, 435 home runs, 1,587 RBIs and 312 steals to go along with nine. Williams was one of the National League's first great home run hitters. His name showed up in the Mitchell Report, but it came without the hard evidence like shipping receipts or direct accusations that others had. He was the 1978 NL MVP, won two World Series titles and received MVP votes in nine seasons, finishing in the top five of the voting five times. McNally was part of one of the great pitching staffs of all time along with Jim Palmer, Mike Cuellar and Pat Dobson. 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. 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. Garvey was a remarkably consistent and clutch performer for the great Dodgers teams for over a decade in the 1970s and 1980s. 300 career average used to be an important part of an Hall of fame career. Not for me. 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. Thomas was the designated hitter in only 56.42 percent of the games he played in, while Molitor's percentage was even lower at 43.76. Everyone has their own opinion. The Worst Starts To Hall Of Fame Careers. He has finished no worse than eighth in Hall of Fame voting in his three years on the ballot, topping 32 percent each time. Raines has been on the ballot for six years, and during that time his vote percentage has gone from 24.3 in . It is usually reported to three decimal places and pronounced as if it were multiplied by 1,000: a player with a batting average of .300 is "batting three-hundred." A point (or percentage point) is understood to be .001. There just is no way to pick and choose who definitely did use steroids, who didn't and just what kind of impact they had on their play. HR Rank All Time. He was a six-time All-Star and a three-time top-five MVP finisher. Despite the tragedy, Mays had a very productive 15-year career. He finished his career with a 211-169 record. However, the high intensity took its toll physically on Martin, who only played over 100 games five times in his career. Despite being just a part-time player over his final five seasons, Staub amassed 2,716 career hits, falling 184 short of 3,000 and a probable place in Cooperstown. In 1956 he received more votes than 14 future Hall of Famers, including Leo Durocher, Phil Rizzuto, Joe Sewell, Ernie Lombardi and Bobby Doerr. He had set a major league record with 59 straight scoreless innings, and in four of his first five full seasons, he had an ERA of 3.06 or lower. Maris was considered a power show more content At the time of his retirement, Williams was the National League's all-time home run leader with 251. Ichiro is only renting space on this list. Career statistics/162: .306 BA, 7 HR, 79 RBI, 5 . 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. 10-07-2016, 07:41 AM. 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. Mays was a sidearming spitball pitcher who pitched for four teams in the early 20th century. He had six 200-hit seasons and finished his 19-year career with a .294 lifetime average. He won the National League pitching triple crown in 1918 and finished with a career record of 178-137. Smith had a long, productive career and while he was never great, he was often very good. 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