Mike Piazza
Piazza is known for being the all-time greatest hitting catcher. He had a .308 batting average as well as 427 career home runs. With that amount of power, other players will have to struggle to overtake him.
Mike Piazza
Gary Sheffield
New York Mets player Gary Sheffield accomplished both power and average hits throughout his career. Even though he only played for 12 seasons total, Sheffield managed to hit .318 through his career, had more than 2100 hits, and even led the league in triples on several occasions.
Gary Sheffield
Wade Boggs
Wade Boggs was helped by a good amount of at-bats while playing for the Boston Red Sox, and though he was not a power hitter, he was still quite a dominant player. He had a career average of .328 and 3010 hits total. It’s seriously impressive that during his last season, he managed to hit over .300 while being 41 years old.
Wade Boggs
Roberto Clemente
Though Roberto Clemente had a slow start, he was able to improve quickly and became an elite hitter shortly into his career. His career average was .317 and managed exactly 3000 hits.
Roberto Clemente
Eddie Mathews
Despite the fact that Eddie Mathews was overshadowed by Hank Aron, he still very much held his own. He managed several seasons of reaching .300 hitting and managed 512 career home runs. He lead the league in walks regularly throughout his career.
Eddie Mathews
Jeff Bagwell
Jeff Bagwell is one of baseball’s true greats when it comes to hitting. He regularly hit over 100 RBIs and 30 HRs over 15 seasons, and managed to hit .300 throughout his relatively short career. He definitely should have been included in the Hall of Fame.
Jeff Bagwell
Ken Griffey, Jr.
During his time with Seattle, Ken Griffey, Jr. had an absolutely incredible career. In the 1990’s he was a .300 hitter as well as a home run champ. At the end of his career, he finished with 630 home runs and 2800 hits.
Ken Griffey, Jr.
Carl Yastrzemski
Carl Yastrzemski’s career stats are similar to that of Griffey. Throughout the majority of his career, and especially in his 20’s, Yastrzemski managed to be quite the dynamic player. He was the last player to hit the Triple Crown. He won the batting title three times and managed 3419 career hits as a Boston Red Sox player.
Carl Yastrzemski
Chipper Jones
Chipper Jones, who is definitely underrated, is a .304 career hitter who is close to reaching the milestones of 3000 hits and 500 home runs. He hit .364 late in his career as well.
Chipper Jones
George Brett
George Brett was MVP in 1980 who led batting average three times in his career. He also managed to have a few seasons with 100 RBIs. Throughout his career, he accrued 3154 hits, over 300 home runs, a .305 average, and one of the highest first-ballot percentages in Hall of Fame history.
George Brett
Alex Rodriguez
Despite the stigma associated with A-Rod and PED use, he still has been one of the best hitters in the history of the game. He led the league in the 90’s with a .358 average and has led the league in home runs and runs five times and has 629 career home runs.
Alex Rodriguez
Mike Schmidt
Mike Schmidt is one of the Philadelphia Pillies biggest standout hitters. The three time MVP-hitter was great at power hitting and led the league in home runs eight times throughout his career. He finished with 2232 hits, 548 home runs over his career that spanned over two decades.
Mike Schmidt
Albert Pujols
Though Albert Pujols has not retired yet and certainly has several more seasons left ahead of him, he is undoubtedly one of the best that the MLB has ever seen. He was MVP candidate for 11 seasons that he has played and has been a .300 almost every single year.
Albert Pujols
Nap Lajoie
There is no question about Nap Lajoie when it comes to dominant hitters. He even had a whole team named after him, the Cleveland Naps! He led the league in batting five times throughout his career and finished with a career average of .338, 163 triples, and 3242 hits.
Nap Lajoie
Frank Robinson
Considering that Frank Robinson played in a pitching-dominant era, his stats are even more impressive. In 1966, he won the Triple Crown and also managed to be a two-time MVP winner. He finished his career with 586 home runs, more than 1800 RBIS, and 2943 hits total.
Frank Robinson
Derek Jeter
Derek Jeter is probably the best known baseball player outside of the sport itself, having a major celebrity status and even appearing in popular culture. During his MLB career, Jeter was always consistent and ranks third in postseason home runs. He boasts five career World Series titles total.
Derek Jeter
Joe DiMaggio
Joe DiMaggio entered MLB legend when he managed a 56-game hitting streak. Also known as “The Yankee Clipper,” DiMaggio was an especially capable career hitter, holding the 12th best mark for OPS at .9771. Despite his career being short, he holds an incredible nine World Series title.
Joe DiMaggio
Honus Wagner
Honus Wagner was one of the original star sluggers in the MLB. He dominated the scene through winning eight batting titles. His career average was .328, the 35th best mark of all time. He also ranks 8th best in total hits and 25th all-time in total bases.
Honus Wagner
Tony Gwynn
Tony Gwynn, aka “Mr. Padre,” is a total standout when it comes to career batting averages since the MLB Expansion Era began. His career average is .3382, which ranks 19th best in MLB history. However, it’s important to remember that he sustained this average for 20 years.
Tony Gwynn
Mel Ott
Mel Ott overcame his (by baseball standards) rather short stature of 5ft9 to become a legendary player for the New York Mets. He became the first MLB player to reach 500 career home runs. He ranks 21st overall in total bases and career OPS and 25th in all-time career home runs.
Mel Ott
Pete Rose
Pete Rose is the record holder for all0time hits in the MLB. He continues to be the only player since the Expansion Era to have over 4000 knocks. Despite this, his career OPS doesn’t crack the top 500 and his career on-base percentage is rather low at .375.
Pete Rose
Miguel Cabrera
Miguel Cabrera shocked fans in 2012 when he became the first baseball player since the year 1967 to win the Triple Crown: lead home runs, batting average, and RBI’s over a single season. Hi career batting average of .3165 ranks the highest of all active players.
Miguel Cabrera
Eddie Collins
Eddit Collins played for 24 seasons while maintaining an on-base percentage of .424. With that average, he ranks in the top 30 of all time. Collins also ranks 10th in wins above replacement.
Eddie Collins
Joey Votto
Many refer to Joey Votto as “the most under appreciated great hitter of his era.” In 2010, he won the National League MVP but is not frequently mentioned, perhaps because he played for the smaller market team Cincinnati Reds. His career batting average of .311 ranks 4th best of all active players.
Joey Votto
Frank Thomas
Frank Thomas earned the nickname “The Big Hurt” as he was known for absolutely crushing 521 home runs throughout his career. He also became a first ballot Hall of Famer. Thomas is tied with Ted Williams as 20th all-time.
Frank Thomas
Tris Speaker
Tris Speaker was a huge star of the early days of the MLB. He ranks fifth all-time holding the record for 792 career doubles to this day, notably 50 ahead of second place. It’s pretty impressive that his career numbers hold up nearly a century later!
Tris Speaker
Hank Greenberg
Hank Greenberg, also known as the “Hebrew Hammer” still ranks 6th best slugging percentage and OPS of MLB history. This proves that in addition to having strength, he was also very consistent. It’s even more impressive when you consider that he left to serve in WWII in the middle of his career for four years.
Hank Greenberg
Rogers Hornsby
In 1924, Rogers Hornsby batted a staggering .424, which easily became a single-season average that has still yet to be touched today. Known for his success in the batter’s box, he is ranked second in career batting average in all of MLB history. He is one of two players to win earn the Triple Crown twice in his career.
Rogers Hornsby
Jimmie Foxx
Jimmie Foxx, also known as “Double X” was known for being an accomplished power hitter. He became the second player to reach 500 career home runs, which he reached when he was 32 years old. He ranks 19th best in career home runs to this day, with 534 total.
Jimmie Foxx
Mike Trout
Although he is still quite young, it’s clear that Mike Trout is one of the best when it comes to baseball. This slugger has already made it to the top lists in several categories like OPS and OPS+. Only time will tell where he will rank, but he is undoubtedly one of the best players of all time.
Mike Trout
Mickey Mantle
Mickey “The Mick” Mantle is one of the best known, loved, and legendary baseball players, especially in New York history. He holds the record of having 11th best OPS in history and 7th best OPS+. His career 536 home runs rank him at 18th best, but most impressively he holds the record for most home runs, total bases and walks, and RBIs in World Series history.
Mickey Mantle
Manny Ramirez
Manny Ramirez is second only to Barry Bonds when it comes to career OPS. His career slugging percentage is 8th best of all time. His most impressive skills came during playoffs, holding the record of most career playoff home runs and 3rd more career hits in the playoffs.
Manny Ramirez
Stan Musial
Stan “The Man” Musial is a legendary St. Louis Cardinal baseball player. He is 8th best in wins above replacement and 13th best OPS of all time. He is in the top 4 of hits and total bases. When he retired, he held virtually all hitting records in National League history.
Stan Musial
Willie Mays
Williw Mays is without a doubt one of the most legendary players of modern baseball. He was extremely talented in the batter’s box but also in the field. He holds the 3rd best mark in wins above replacement among every position player.
Willie Mays
Barry Bonds
Despite the fact that his legacy was marred by performance-enhancing drugs, his accomplishments should still be mentioned. He has the best OPS of any player in the Expansion Era. He holds the record for career home runs, with a total of 762.
Barry Bonds
Hank Aaron
Hank “Hammerin’ Hank” Aaron is considered to be the best power hitter in baseball history and is known for breaking Babe Ruth’s career home run record. He held this record for 30 years before being overtaken. Aaron collected an impressive 722 more bases more than Stan Musial, who holds second place.
Hank Aaron
Ty Cobb
Ty Cobb is a baseball legend, known for his dominant abilities. While playing with the Detroit Tigers, he hit a high mark of .3662 career batting average over 24 seasons. He is also second best in most total hits, 5th best in total babes, and 9th best in total RBIs.
Ty Cobb
Ted Williams
Ted “The Splendid Splinter” Williams has a long list of career stats that are mind blowing, but perhaps the most impressive is his .406 batting average, which he reached in 1941. That remains the last time a player reached above .400 batting average in a single season. He also spent 3 years in the middle of his career serving in WWII, which makes his accomplishments even more impressive.
Ted Williams
Lou Gehrig
Lou Gehrig is without a doubt the most iconic of any New York Yankees baseball player. “The Iron Horse” had an incredible career sadly cut short due to a horrific disease that was eventually named after him. He was able to solidify an incredible career full of records before that. In the 1928, he posted a .706 on-base percentage, which was unheard of at the time.
Lou Gehrig
Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth will always be considered the greatest of all time when it comes to baseball. He was hands down the best hitter to set foot in the batter’s box. He had a career on-base percentage of .470 in the postseason, as well as a crazy impressive .625 on-base percentage of .625 in the 1928 playoffs, leading to one of seven World Series titles he’d win.
Babe Ruth
