Most Underrated Hitting Season of All Time?
 

If this is not the epitome of water cooler talk, then I don't know what is.

In 1947, Johnny Mize became the only player in MLB history (he still is) to hit 50+ homers while striking out fewer than 50 times. DiMaggio didn't, Gehrig didn't, etc.

However, that's not as impressive as Klu. In 1954, Ted Kluszewski hit 49 dingers, only 1 away from the magic number of 50... and he only struck out 35 times. Especially relative to today's MLB approach at the plate, that's incredible!

I guess all this talk about HOF-worthy players in other threads has me thinking about Klu. His career numbers are not Hall-worthy, but that particular season was ridiculous. He lost out to Say Hey Willie in the MVP voting, but that's probably only because the Giants went to the Series while the Redlegs were lousy. Incredible hitting.

One of my top 10 favorite guys...for no reason at all...Ellis Burks 1996 season...criminally robbed of the MVP IMO

https://www.baseball-reference.com/a..._NL_MVP_voting

If you're a fan of Klu, be sure to check out the thread on the main forum, OT: The '56 Cincinnati Reds on What's My Line, if you haven't already seen it. Links to an episode of the show the Reds team appeared on, and Klu is the spokesman and does all the talking. Shows a young and skinny Frank Robinson as well.

Hornsby has several to nominate. Overshadowed by the AL sluggers of the era and often left out.

Dave Orr’s 1885 is a great one that is completely ignored entirely now.

Maybe not the Most underrated but definitely one of the craziest. Brady Anderson 1996.

Would nominate Wally Bergers 1930 rookie year as very underrated. A top 3 Power threat of the early-mid 30s. He is seemingly completely forgotten and very underrated.

https://youtu.be/67kJpWG-iQY

That robbery was criminal. I also really liked Ellis. His career 175 HRs in the NL and 177 in the AL is pretty cool.

Whoops this was just about hitting.

It depends on how you look at the game but Joe Sewell's 1925 season was pretty impressive. He collected 204 hits, 98 RBIs to one home run, with a 336 batting average. But what was incredible was that he only struck out 4 times in 699 plate appearances.

I'm not sure folks really appreciate how good a hitter Tony Gwynn was, and a special human being on top of all that.

When you factor in all the walks and look at the absurd on base percentages, a few of Ted's lesser publicized seasons.

This is my pick positively.

His 94’ season is likely to stay as the highest average for a modern player with at least 110 games or even 100 to lower the bar for the future. I remember really hoping he could finish.400, but he was oh so close.

He just was a true hitter and not a hr slugger which clouds memories. I wish for the true return of the pre espn highlights reliable hitter.

It not necessarily a lesser publicized season, but people should have been interviewed for mob ties in 1942. He wins a triple crown and Joe Gordon with subpar stats wins MVP?

Criminal.

Well he got robbed by DiMaggio the year before, so maybe he got used to it.

What most forget or completely ignore about Mr Gwynn is that amazing 1994 season was the beginning of his by far best 4 year stretch. Amazing what he done from ages 34 to 37 while gaining weight around the midsection. It is almost unbelievable.

I wouldn't call it the MOST underrated of all time, but Bernie Williams deserved the MVP award in 1998. He was the best player on the best team of all time and finished 7th in MVP voting despite having the same OPS as winner Juan Gonzalez BUT having a much superior OPS+.

Bernie that year: 101 runs, 26 home runs, 97 RBIs, league leading 339 average, 997 OPS and 160 OPS+.

Brady Anderson = Roids

Bergers a good one

Hornsby amazing years in the 20's but it was all about Ruth

Brady Anderson = Roids

Bergers a good one

Hornsby amazing years in the 20's but it was all about Ruth

The fact that no one has even mentioned his name yet tells you how underrated he is. In 2004, Ichiro Suzuki batted .372 while collecting 262 hits to set the all-time ML record for hits in a single season. He broke Rogers Hornsby's previous record of 257 hits set in 1920, 84 years earlier. And despite leading the majors in hits and average that year, he only came in a distant 7th in the MVP voting. Think about that, he set an all-time batting record and topped the previous record that had existed for over 80 years, and couldn't even crack the top 5 in MVP voting. All during the height of the steroid era.

Mariners were horrible that year to. Bunch of guys on that team who used to be good. If he had a better lineup behind him, he might have gotten more at bats and maybe 10-15 more hits that year then he already compiled, and probably more MVP votes.

Never helped him that he didn't exactly pile up the extra base hits or walks. Reason why I always ranked Boggs and Gwynn well ahead of him, offensively at least. Ichiro was probably superior defensively for the first half of his career anyways, even though Boggs was always better defensively, then he got credit for.

Wish the Majors would swing back to that style of hits over HR... it won't happen because of what sells tickets and advertising dollars in the modern age, but Boggs, Gwynn, Ichiro... my kind of baseball.

I know Dave, but he broke an all-time record and the best he could get was 7th for the MVP!?!?!? How often does someone break an all-time record like that? Just goes to show how everyone was so enamored with the PED users and the long ball back then.

And as for Boggs and Gwynn being better offensively, how often did either of them bat leadoff? Wasn't that where Ichiro usually was in the order back then? As you mentioned, the Mariners were not very great then so he's not getting up a lot with people on base and chances to drive in runs. He's just trying to get on base, which he succeeded in doing a lot. As for walks, since he wasn't such a huge home run threat, and the rest of the team not that great as you say, I can see opposing pitchers pitching to him so he has to put the ball in play to get on, rather than letting him just walk a lot. Even so, he still lead the AL in intentional walks that year, but of course Bonds lead the majors with some ridiculously higher number.

Ichiro not really a WAR darling, but with his defense that year, he had a pretty big number. I think if MVP was judged as it is nowadays, he would have had a much better showing. Might even have won it. Juan Gonzalez certainly wouldn’t have.

True that. I never said Ichiro should have gotten the MVP that year, just certainly not 7th in the voting. And why I added this to the discussion of most underrated hitting seasons of all time.

I agree with the comments about Ted. I'd argue that hitting .388 in 1957 at age 38 is probably something that is a tad bit underrated.

Agreed

PACKS, that 1925 season of Joe Sewell is gold.

I remember an interview George Brett gave, and he said that when he played a strikeout was viewed as a failed at bat. You never wanted to back to the dugout after striking out because you had to face your teammates.

Those days are long gone....

Ichiro once said in an interview if he wanted to hit me home runs he could, he just didn't want to. If you ever saw one of his HR, he could smash them pretty far. What a great player. His career is underrated because he likes to be in the shadows.

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Reminds me of the story when Ty Cobb decided to hit home runs:

Detroit was in Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis, to take on the Browns. The game of the 5th, a Tuesday, Cobb batted six times, with six hits. He also scored four runs and batted in five. But the big surprise was his three home runs. His other extra-base hit that day was a double, giving him 16 total bases, establishing a new modern major league record (the mark has since been tied, and broken, by several players; Shawn Green now holds the big league mark with 19). His three bombs tied him with four other players for the most in a modern-day game (One of the other players was Babe Ruth himself, a fact which must have tickled Cobb to no end.). Incidentally, the Tigers won the game, 14-8.

But Cobb’s hitting spree was far from over. In the next day’s game, also in St. Louis, he went 3-for-6, with two runs scored and six RBIs. He also clouted two more home runs. His five homers in two consecutive games was something that had never been done before, not even by the Bambino. It is a mark that has not been eclipsed to this day, although it has been equaled by 28 players.

Cobb’s two-day output reads thus: nine hits in 12 at-bats (.750), six runs, one double, five homers, 11 RBIs, 25 total bases. His nine hits were made consecutively. On the negative side of the ledger, he was caught stealing once. The Tigers also won the second game by a score of 11-4.

Of course, the footnote to the tale is that, just prior to the first game, Cobb was sitting in the dugout with a reporter and pointed out, “I’ll show you something today. I’m going for home runs for the first time in my career.” Whether the story is apocryphal or not, it makes for a great legend. It also proves that Cobb could indeed hit the long ball when he felt like it.

The next day, however, having proved his point, Cobb went right back to his old style. He did not hit another home run until June 2. He finished with 12 homers in 1925, equaling his career-high. But for at least two days in the middle of the new Home Run Era, Ty Cobb was just as powerful as the great Babe Ruth.

One of which I actually saw... summer of '91 at Riverfront, Barry Larkin hit 2 the day before, and I saw the next day's game when he hit 3 more against the Astros... still have the ticket stub in my wallet, actually.

That reminds me of Boggs. I believe he said the same thing, long before Ichiro....but I guess, long after Ty Cobb. :)

Boggs decided he was going to try and hit HR's in 1987. Banged out 24, and went back to his single digit usual output nearly every season after.

Oh, and under-rated seasons. That year he hit 24 HR's, he also led the league in BA .363, OBP .461, OPS 1.049, OPS+ 174 and WAR for a Position Player 8.3.

He came in 9th in the MVP voting that year. :eek:

This thread is about underrated "hitting" seasons, and one common recurring theme seems to be that unless your focus is on home runs, no one seems to care or pay much attention anymore. There are a lot of great hitters (and overall great players) who don't seem to get the credit they deserve because they're not bashing tape measure home runs all season long. Sad commentary on the state of the game.

And that Cobb story is a great example of how great hitters can be easily put down by others just because they don't focus on hitting home runs. Mentioned that same story to a Ruth fan here on the forum once before and got crap from them, accusing me of saying Cobb was better than Ruth and basically making fun of Cobb, and myself, for daring to somehow show up Ruth. I've always felt there's a huge difference between someone who doesn't do something because they can't do it, and someone who doesn't do something because they choose not to. And to go along with that Cobb story, don't forget Cobb hit those five homers over two games at the age of 38. A little past his prime, wouldn't you say? And also don't forget Cobb has a Triple Crown to his credit, something else Ruth failed to do at any time in his career.

To be a great hitter you at least need tremendous eyesight, hand-eye coordination, and bat speed. Having strength and power are great, but if you can't first get the bat on the ball, all the power and strength in the world (including that generated by PEDs) isn't worth squat. I remember at an early age being told hitting a baseball is one of the hardest things to do. You've got a round ball, and a round bat, and all everyone tells you to do is hit it squarely.

Larkin was fun to watch, even better when you get to see history in person.

Okay, so this one is from a LONG time ago.

In 1884, Fred Dunlap, Second Basemen for the St. Louis Maroons (which played in the short lived Union Association League) had a monster year. In 449 at bats, he led the league in hits (185), runs (160), HRs (13), batting average (.412), OBP (.448), Slugging (.621), OPS (1.069), an absurd OPS+ (256) and total bases (279).

Dunlap's batting average was 52 points higher than the next best and the highest ever at that time, and he outslugged Dan Brouthers who came in 2nd in the Major Leagues by 58 points.

Dunlap's 125 Runs Created was 27 higher than King Kelly, who came in 2nd, and 29 higher than Cap Anson, who came in 3rd in the Majors.

Dunlap's OPS+ of 256 is even higher than Babe Ruth's best of 255.

Dunlap is so forgotten to time that I couldn't even find a SABR biography for him. But I did see that some baseball historians have suggested that Dunlap's accomplishments during the 1884 season should be discounted due to the lesser talent pool in the Union Association, which only existed in 1884. So maybe its just more obscure than underrated.

Al Rosen had possibly the greatest offensive season by a third baseman ever.

I was looking at some of Mantle's years, his stats from 1957 (the year after he won the Triple Crown and MVP) was pretty amazing. His HRs were down, only 34, but a lot of that was because he wasn't getting pitches. 146 walks!

He batted .365 with a .512 OBP. On base over half the time! A .665 SLG and a 1.177 OPS - the highest of his career. Great season!

Then I looked at all those incredible numbers and realized none of them were bolded - aside from the walks, Mick didn't lead the league in any of those stats.

That's because in 1957, at 38 years old, Ted Williams hit .388 with a .524 OBP and a .731 SLG. His OPS was 1.257! Teddy Ballgame's 1957 year was incredible.

In fact, if you take out the Nego League numbers and the cheaters, Ted's 1.257 OPS is the 2nd highest non-Babe OPS all-time, after only Ted's 1941 season.

I'm not sure that it's exactly underrated (at least not in 19th century circles), but it's not talked about nearly enough. Tip O'Neill's 1887 season was absolutely out of this world INSANE.

That's a lot of black ink.

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Tip could also pitch. He seems to be forgotten for being in the American Association. I believe he has never gotten a single vote for the hall of fame.

Anyone who hits .406 and doesn't win the MVP HAS to be the most underrated.

I was looking through Cobb's career and his 1927 season was insane. He was 40 years old and scored 100 runs, stole 22 bases and hit 357.

Yes it was. Amazing player and some insane years he had

Honus Wagner in 1908. He led the NL in BA, SLG, OPS, OPS+, H, 2B, 3B, RBI, SB and TB. He was 2nd in HR and Runs. He was 2 HR and 1 run scored short of leading the league in every major offensive category. He did this while playing shortstop in a pitcher's park. His season is underrated because other than his 11.5 WAR, his raw numbers don't stand out. 1908 was the lowest run scoring season of the 20th century. Because of this his season was worth 59 win shares. Babe Ruth's highest win shares for a season was 55.

Perhaps not THE most underrated, but certainly, two of the most poorly timed best seasons were Billy Williams' 1970 & 1972 seasons.

He just happened to have his best two seasons the same year the Greatest Cather Ever had his.

.

ok. so perhaps I am biased being a fan, but how about Lou Gehrig 1934 season

154GP, 210 hits, 363 BA(1st in AL), 49 HR(1st in both lgs), 166 RBI(1st in both lgs), 465 OBP(1st in AL), 706 SLG(1st in both lgs), 1.172 OPS(1st in both lgs), 207 OPS+(1st in AL), 409 total bases(1st in both lgs), WAR 10.1(1st in AL) with only 31 SO... He also only made 8 Errors in 1372 chances at FB for a 994 Fielding pct.
Won the Triple crown and came in 5th in MVP voting!!!

Though, perhaps the least underrated player of all-time, the Babe's 1920 & 1921 seasons are usually in the shadow of 1927.

Consider these numbers:

1920
158 runs
172 hits
36 doubles
9 triples
54 homers
135 rbis
14 sbs
150 bb
.376 BA
.532 OBP
.847 SLG
1.379 OPS
255 OPS+
388 TBs

1921
177 runs
204 hits
44 doubles
16 triples
59 homers
168 rbis
16 sbs
145 bb
.378 BA
.512 OBP
.846 SLG
1.359 OPS
239 OPS+
455 TBs

Yea agree, I don't think the 1921 season of Ruth can be topped offensively. They seem like unrealistic video game numbers.

1994 Tony Gwynn's .394 season.

Ruth's 1920 season overshadowed another underrated hitting season. In 1920 George Sisler set the record for hits in a season with 257, he also led the league in batting at .407 and despite Ruth's power numbers, led in total bases. He was also 3rd in OBP, 2nd in SLG, 2nd in OPS, 2nd in runs, 2nd in 2b, 2nd in 3b, 2nd in HR, 2nd in RBI, 2nd in SB and of course 2nd in WAR. Two years later Sisler hit .420 which would be the highest batting average of the live ball era if Rogers Hornsby hadn't hit .424 2 years later. Overshadowed by two of the greatest to play the game.