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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CIRCA 1960’s: Outfielder/First Baseman Stan Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals with bat on shoulder infront of the batting cage before an early circa 1960’s Major League Baseball game. sMusial played for the Cardinals from 1941-63. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
CIRCA 1960’s: Outfielder/First Baseman Stan Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals with bat on shoulder infront of the batting cage before an early circa 1960’s Major League Baseball game. sMusial played for the Cardinals from 1941-63. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

18. Stan Musial, 1948

  • The Numbers: .376/.450/.702, 39 homers, 131 RBI, 230 hits, 46 doubles, 18 triples, NL MVP

No one dominated the post-WWII baseball quite like Stan Musial. He batted .346/.428/.578 in the decade with three batting titles and three NL MVP awards. Musial had four seasons in the decade where he led the league in hits, doubles, and triples. His finest season came in 1948.

In 1948, Musial finished a home run shy of the Triple Crown. He actually had hit the necessary homer, but it was nullified by a rained out game that was not completed. Musial won the batting title by 43 points, led in OBP by 27 points, and was tops in slugging percentage by a whopping 138 points. It was the largest margin for the slugging title since Rogers Hornsby in 1925. Musial was awarded his third MVP for the 1948 performance.

Musial picked up three or more hits in 27 games in 1948, had six games with two doubles, but surprisingly only had one game with more than one home run. He was a man all about consistency and carried a batting average above .400 until the middle of July. Even better — Musial batted .415 on the road with 23 of his 39 home runs and 76 RBI in 78 games. He finished his career with seven batting titles, three World Series wins, and 11 more top-ten finishes in the MVP vote.

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