Are Career .300 Hitters a Dying Breed?

Issue #172

While researching another article recently I found myself at this page at baseball-reference.com—the active leaders in batting average. I was amazed to learn there are only three active players—that have 3,000+ plate appearances—with a career average over .300. Those three are:

• Jose Altuve - .307 in 7,360 PA

• Freddie Freeman - .301 in 8,109 PA

• Mike Trout - .301 in 6,521 PA

Granted, batting average isn’t seen as important of a statistic as it once was. But as a kid growing up in the 70s and 80s, batting average was something that—like most fans—I tracked quite closely. In fact, I taught myself how to convert factions to decimals in kindergarten—for all denominators up to twelve—just so I could quickly determine batting averages.

What I remember from that era was far more than three players had a career average over .300 at any particular time. My recollection put it at around 10-15. Further, the leader wouldn’t be at a modest .307 either—more like .320 or even .330 or higher.

To check my memory, I decided to look up who the leaders were—and how many hitters were above .300—at five year intervals, starting with 1960. Here are the totals for each year I checked:

• 1960 - 12

• 1965 - 9

• 1970 - 8

• 1975 - 8

• 1980 - 15

• 1985 - 12

• 1990 - 8

• 1995 - 15

• 2000 - 23

• 2005 - 26

• 2010 - 18

• 2015 - 10

• 2020 - 9

• 2024 - 3

So the totals above for the 1970s were a bit lower than I was remembering—only 8 career .300 hitters (with 3,000+ PA) in both 1970 and 1975. That is likely because of the late 60s and early 70s being a relatively strong era for pitching.

But then the totals grew in the 1980s, dipped a bit in 1990, but then really took off during the big offensive era of the late 90s and early 2000s. 2015 and 2020 saw more modest totals of 10 and 9, respectively. And now we have just three—with Freeman and Trout barely over .300, and I’d say Trout in particular at risk of dipping below.

What about active players who could join these three once they get over the 3,000 PA threshold? One name that comes to mind is Luis Arraez, and sure enough he has a robust .326 average over 2,186 PA. So he could join this list sometime in 2025.

But I couldn’t find any others who seemed close. Bo Bichette has a .299 average in 2,328 PA, and Jeff McNeil has a .298 average in 2,687 PA. So if either of them bat say .310 or higher in 2024, that might nudge them over the .300 line. But it seems this list isn’t going to grow much anytime soon.

I assume the reasons for this are the obvious ones about how the game has changed in recent years. Relief pitching specialization which started to accelerate in the 1970s has solidified into established roles for many bullpen arms. That, along with lower expectations for starting pitchers to throw more than six innings, and you have more pitchers giving max effort on more pitches.

On the hitting side, most batters are focused on launch angle, exit velocity, and generally hitting lots of homeruns—not getting lots of singles and doubles. And of course batting average itself, as a statistic, doesn’t have the status that it once did—with OBP, SLG, OPS, and other percentages having been shown to better correlate to value production and winning. Hitters used to really care about finishing a season, not to mention a career, with a .300 average—now many other stats are seen as more interesting and important.

And that is all fine with me. I don’t mean to sound overly nostalgic for the glory days of batting average. But I did find it an interesting trip down memory lane to see the career batting average leaders dating back to 1960, at each five-year interval as I indicated above. Here are those lists, with some commentary from me for each.

1960

• Ted Williams .344

• Stan Musial .335

• Hank Aaron .318

• Willie Mays .316

• Harvey Kuenn .313

• Richie Ashburn .310

• Mickey Mantle .307

• Minnie Miñoso .307

• Al Kaline .306

• Billy Goodman .301

• Duke Snider .301

• Ted Kluszewski .300

Here we see some all-time greats in Ted Williams and Stan Musial, and then the generation that followed with Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, and Mickey Mantle. Aaron and Mays started out their careers with pretty high batting averages, but then played so long that they eventually settled closer to the .300 line.

1965

• Hank Aaron .320

• Willie Mays .313

• Roberto Clemente .309

• Orlando Cepeda .308

• Mickey Mantle .306

• Al Kaline .306

• Harvey Kuenn .303

• Frank Robinson .302

• Vada Pinson .302

Aaron and Mays are leading the way at this point, with Roberto Clemente by this time having enough plate appearances to join them.

1970

• Roberto Clemente .316

• Hank Aaron .313

• Tony Oliva .311

• Pete Rose .309

• Matty Alou . 309

• Willie Mays .306

• Frank Robinson .303

• Al Kaline .301

By 1970, Clemente is leading the pack with Aaron dipping a bit and Mays dropping to .306. The top average has dropped to .316 and the overall active list has shrunk to eight, as cumulative batting averages are feeling the impact of the strong pitching era of the late 1960s.

1975

• Rod Carew .328

• Ralph Garr .317

• Pete Rose .310

• Rico Carty .308

• Hank Aaron .307

• Tony Oliva .306

• Manny Sanguillen .304

• Manny Mota .303

The list still only includes eight guys, but Rod Carew now has enough plate appearances to qualify and so we have a more robust top average of .328. Ralph Garr's career also got off to a good start, as he comes in a strong second at .317.

1980

• Rod Carew .333

• George Brett .319

• Bill Madlock .314

• Dave Parker .314

• Pete Rose .310

• Fred Lynn .308

• Jim Rice .307

• Ken Griffey Sr. .307

• Ralph Garr .306

• Cecil Cooper .306

• Steve Garvey .304

• Manny Mota .304

• Al Oliver .303

• Bake McBride .300

• Bob Watson .300

In just five years, the list nearly doubles and Carew's average climbs a bit to .333. Third-basemen George Brett and Bill Madlock now qualify, as does Madlock's Pirates' teammate Dave Parker. Pete Rose's consistency is evident at this point as well, as he was hitting .309 as of 1970, .310 as of 1975, and still .310 as of 1980.

1985

• Rod Carew .328

• George Brett .316

• Bill Madlock .309

• Pedro Guerrero .306

• Pete Rose .304

• Dave Parker .304

• Cecil Cooper. 303

• Al Oliver .303

• Jim Rice .302

• Keith Hernandez .301

• Willie Wilson .301

• Ken Griffey Sr. .300

After five more seasons the list is a little shorter, but Carew, Brett, and Madlock are still the top three. Rose has dipped a bit in his final years, sitting now at .304.

1990

• Wade Boggs .346

• Tony Gwynn .329

• Kirby Puckett .320

• Don Mattingly .317

• George Brett .311

• Pedro Guerrero .305

• Will Clark .302

• Tim Raines .301

By 1990 the high-average mantle had been passed from Carew to Wade Boggs and Tony Gwynn, with Kirby Puckett and Don Mattingly also making a strong showing. The list is oddly, if only temporarily shorter, back down eight—the total seen back in 1970 and 1975. But that won't last long...

1995

• Tony Gwynn .336

• Wade Boggs .334

• Frank Thomas .323

• Kirby Puckett .318

• Edgar Martinez .313

• Don Mattingly .307

• Mark Grace .306

• Paul Molitor .305

• Carlos Baerga .305

• Mike Greenwell .303

• Ken Griffey Jr. .302

• Will Clark .302

• Julio Franco .301 (played in Japan in 1995, but returned to MLB the next year)

• John Kruk .300

• Rafael Palmeiro .300

By 1995 Gwynn has surged slightly ahead of Boggs, but both still had impressive .330+ career averages. Frank Thomas and Edgar Martinez have also joined Puckett and Mattingly in the top half of this list.

2000

• Tony Gwynn .338

• Mike Piazza .328

• Derek Jeter .322

• Frank Thomas .321

• Edgar Martinez .320

• Manny Ramírez .313

• Larry Walker .311

• Jeff Cirillo .311

• Álex Rodríguez .309

• Mark Grace .308

• Rusty Greer .307

• Kenny Lofton .306

• Jeff Bagwell .305

• Bernie Williams .304

• Hal Morris .304

• Roberto Alomar .304

• Iván Rodríguez .304

• Will Clark .303

• Chipper Jones .303

• Moisés Alou .303

• Jason Giambi .302

• Julio Franco .301

• Barry Larkin .300

Boggs retired in 1999 with a .328 career average, while Gwynn was still hitting away in 2000 with an impressive .338 career average. Mike Piazza and Derek Jeter were next in line, joining Thomas and Martinez as hitters with a .320 batting average at that point. The list has swelled to 23 guys, and includes some names that surprised me like Jeff Cirillo, Rusty Greer, Hal Morris, and Moisés Alou.

2005

• Todd Helton .337

• Albert Pujols .332

• Ichiro Suzuki .332

• Vladimir Guerrero .324

• Nomar Garciaparra .320

• Derek Jeter .314

• Manny Ramírez .314

• Larry Walker .313

• Mike Piazza .311

• Frank Thomas .307

• Álex Rodríguez .307

• Magglio Ordóñez .306

• Sean Casey .305

• Juan Pierre .305

• Iván Rodríguez .304

• Mike Sweeney .304

• Chipper Jones .303

• Bobby Abreu .303

• José Vidro .302

• Jason Kendall .302

• Lance Berkman .302

• Moisés Alou .301

• Mark Loretta .301

• Plácido Polanco .300

• Barry Bonds .300

• Shannon Stewart .300

Ballooning even more to 26 players, the list is now headlined by Colorado slugger Todd Helton and his .337 career average as of 2005. Four other newcomers in Albert Pujols, Ichiro Suzuki, Vladimir Guerrero, and Nomar Garciaparra round out the top five. Again, some interesting additional names appear in the middle and bottom part of this list, such as Magglio Ordóñez, Sean Casey, Juan Pierre, Mike Sweeney, José Vidro, Jason Kendall, Mark Loretta, Plácido Polanco, and Shannon Stewart.

2010

• Albert Pujols .331

• Ichiro Suzuki .331

• Joe Mauer .327

• Todd Helton .324

• Vladimir Guerrero .320

• Matt Holliday .317

• Derek Jeter .314

• Miguel Cabrera .313

• Hanley Ramirez .313

• Manny Ramírez .313

• Magglio Ordóñez .312

• Robinson Canó .309

• Chipper Jones .306

• David Wright .305

• Plácido Polanco .303

• Álex Rodríguez .303

• Michael Young .300

• Victor Martinez .300

By 2010 the current tightening trend has begun, though the list of active .300 career averages is still strong at 18 players. The order of the top five has been rearranged, and Joe Mauer has replaced Garciaparra who retired in 2009 with a still lofty .313 career mark. I had forgotten that Matt Holliday had such a high average, hitting at a .317 clip through 2010.

2015

• Miguel Cabrera .321

• Ichiro Suzuki .314

• Joe Mauer .313

• Albert Pujols .312

• Joey Votto .311

• Buster Posey .310

• Robinson Canó .307

• Matt Holliday .307

• Ryan Braun .304

• Victor Martinez .302

Shrinking further to only 10 by 2015, Miguel Cabrera has climbed from a tie for eighth place to the top spot with a .321 average at that point in his career. The averages for Suzuki, Mauer, and Pujols have dipped a bit by this time, with Joey Votto, Buster Posey, and Ryan Braun now all making the list.

2020

• Miguel Cabrera .313

• José Altuve .311

• DJ LeMahieu .305

• Joey Votto .304

• Charlie Blackmon .304

• Mike Trout .304

• Robinson Canó .303

• Buster Posey .302 (opted out in 2020 due to COVID pandemic, but played again in 2021)

• Mookie Betts .301

The length of the list only shrinks by one from 2015 to 2020, with Cabrera still the top man, though with a somewhat lower .313 mark (lower than Clemente's leading .316 career average in 1970). José Altuve by 2020 had enough plate appearances and comes in second at .311, with everyone else at only .305 or lower.

2023

• José Altuve .307

• Freddie Freeman .301

• Mike Trout .301

Miguel Cabrera retired after the 2023 season with a career .306 average. So here we are, entering the 2024 campaign with only three batters with 3,000+ plate appearances who have a .300+ career batting average. As I noted, Luis Arraez is likely to join this list soon... and perhaps Bo Bichette, Jeff McNeil, or others could too. But just as easily Trout or even Freeman could drop off the list, so I think the chances of this list getting back up to even 8 or 9 guys—the previous low marks in the above analysis—seems unlikely any time soon.

Did you know? I wrote a book with the same title as this Substack newsletter / blog: Now Taking the Field: Baseball’s All-Time Dream Teams for All 30 Franchises. It was published in early 2019, by ACTA Sports, the publisher of the annual Bill James Handbook and other popular titles. You can learn more about it at www.NowTakingTheField.com, or buy directly at Amazon and other booksellers.