Fansided

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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DENVER, : National League player Tony Gwynn hits a single for two runs during the third inning of the 1998 Major League All-Star game 07 July at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado. AFP PHOTO/Jeff Haynes (Photo credit should read JEFF HAYNES/AFP/Getty Images)
DENVER, : National League player Tony Gwynn hits a single for two runs during the third inning of the 1998 Major League All-Star game 07 July at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado. AFP PHOTO/Jeff Haynes (Photo credit should read JEFF HAYNES/AFP/Getty Images) /

21. Tony Gwynn, 1994

  • The Numbers: .394/.454/.568, 165 hits in only 110 games

No one has come closer to batting .400 since Ted Williams than Tony Gwynn. Were it not for the players’ strike that cut short the 1994 season, he may have been able to lift his batting average from .394 to .400 and join the immortals. Unfortunately, we will never know, and no one has gotten closer since.

Gwynn was on track for over 240 hits in 1994 before the strike ended the season. He was having one of the best contact-hitting seasons in MLB history, having struck out only 19 times in 475 plate appearances. Gwynn was an artists with the bat, and the 1994 season kicked off four straight batting titles.

Mr. Padre excelled at hitting the ball to the opposite field — the 5.5 hole between shortstop and third base was his favorite place to hit the ball — and he had 29 hits and batted .446 when hittin the ball to left field in 1994.

MLB fans and Gwynn were robbed of the chance to see him chase .400 for the full season thanks to the strike. If Gwynn had been given a chance to play out the full 162-game slate in 1994, he may have joined Ted Williams and the .400 club. As it stands, it has been almost 80 years since the last hitter batted .400, and there does not appear to be a chance anyone will challenge in the coming years.

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