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Top 25 MLB batting seasons of all time

By Joshua Sadlock

American baseball player George Herman Ruth (1895 - 1948) known as 'Babe' Ruth. (Photo by MPI/Getty Images)
American baseball player George Herman Ruth (1895 - 1948) known as 'Babe' Ruth. (Photo by MPI/Getty Images) /
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UNSPECIFIED – UNDATED: A classic Ted Williams hitting sequence. (Sports Studio Photos/Getty Images)
UNSPECIFIED – UNDATED: A classic Ted Williams hitting sequence. (Sports Studio Photos/Getty Images) /

12. Ted Williams, 1941

  • The Numbers: .406/.553/.735, 37 homers, 120 RBI, 147 walks

Ted Williams had hitting down to a science, even at the age of 22. He is the last MLB player to bat .400 for an entire season. It came down to the final day of the season, and Williams declined the choice to sit out and keep his average safe at .400 even. He went out and registered four hits on the second-to-last day of the year and then got two more in the last game to push his average up to .406.

At one point in June of 1941, Williams had his batting average all the way up to .436. His two best months of the year were in May and July when he batted .436 and .429, respectively. Williams also had a streak of 69 straight games reaching base and had an on-base percentage better than .500 in every month but April.

In addition to his lightning-quick wrists, Williams had one of the best batting eyes in the history of baseball. He knew every part of his strike zone, specifically which zones he could handle and which he couldn’t. Williams nearly posted a second season with a .400 average at the age of 38 in 1957. He hit .388 that year and had his average as high as .393 in August. Williams retired with 521 home runs and is still the all-time leader in on-base percentage.

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