The .300 Hitter

[DOUGHBOYS]

Last year, for the first time ever, Ben Zobrist finished the year by hitting .300 (.305)
Zobrist has always been an ok hitter. For batting average over the course of his career, his batting average reflects that.
Zobrist is a .266 hitter.For fantasy and real baseball, he is better known as being a swiss army knife of defensive positions, while being an average or sometimes better than average hitter.

Jean Segura also hit .300 (.304) last year.
Segura has now hit .300 three years in a row and has a lifetime batting average of .287
I expect Segura's average to drop a bit this coming year as there is not the expanse of territory for balls to fall in Philly as there was in Seattle.

Joe Mauer retired this year. A good thing for the sake of his lifetime .300 (.306) batting average.
During the last five seasons, Mauer has only hit over .300 once.

Albert Pujols is the most interesting case when talking about lifetime .300 hitters.
In Pujols last year with St. Louis in 2011, he hit .299
Before that, in every year with St. Louis, Pujols never had a year hitting below .310
After that 2011 year, Pujols has never come close to hitting .300 for the Angels.
A once proud lifetime batting average of over .330 has free fallen to a .302 cliffhanger.
If playing this year, it is almost a given that Pujols loses his lifetime .300 batting average
At the same time, he can achieve something that Ruth, Gehrig, Bonds, and Mays did not accomplish. 2,000 RBI
Each of those mentioned players ended their respective careers with over 1,900 RBI.
Still, the one thing Mickey Mantle regretted about his career as a hitter, is that he did not finish with a .300 (.298) batting average.

A .300 lifetime batting average is hard!
How hard?
Well, let's leave out the era's where it was easier to hit .300 and go to just the post-World War II years.
Players whose career began in 1946 or later.
Of those many thousands of players over the last 72 years, only 54 have lifetime batting averages.
This includes modern day players who have played at least five years.
Miguel Cabrera, Mike Trout, Jose Altuve, Ichiro, Joey Votto, Robinson Cano, Charlie Blackmon, Buster Posey, and Dustin Pedroia.
Pedroia hanging by a thread at exactly .300

The usual suspects head the list of batters over .300 since the War.
Tony Gwynn hit .338
Wade Boggs and Rod Carew each hit .328
Many other great hitters and Hall of Famers are also on the list of .300 hitters.
George Brett, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Kirby Puckett, Roberto Clemente, and many more.

There are a few who are of interest and surprises too...

Both Vlad and Pedro Guerrero had lifetime .300 batting averages.
So did Matty and Moises Alou.
John Kruk finished his career batting .300 on the nose.
Edgar Martinez batted .312...Harold baines did not even finish at .290
Mike Piazza, Mauer, and Posey the only catchers.
MLB Network's Sean Casey hit .303
On the list is the oft-injured Rusty Greer and pinch hitter deluxe, Manny Mota.
Don Mattingly, Paul Molitor, and Pete Rose were hitters batting .300 that became Managers.
In the 'Who's that?' category, Hal Morris and Billy Goodman had lifetime .300 batting averages during this time.
One of my favorite Red Sox players, Mike Greenwell had a .3o3 lifetime batting average. Something that his predecessors in left field, Carl Yastrzemski and Jim Rice cannot say.
By the way, Ted Williams does not make this list because his career started before the War.
Just the same, even just counting the ladder part of Ted's career from 1946-60, Williams would have topped this list with a .340 batting average.

72 years, 54 batters.
Less than one .300 batting average hitter per year and with today's methodology of power first, batting average second, this list could become even more sparse with the passage of time.

Here is the list of .300 batters over the last 72 years

Career BA Player Years
.338 Tony Gwynn 1982-2001

.328 Wade Boggs 1982-1999

.328 Rod Carew 1967-1985

.318 Vladimir Guerrero 1996-2011

.318 Kirby Puckett 1984-1995

.317 Roberto Clemente 1955-1972

.316 Jose Altuve 2011-2018

.316 Miguel Cabrera 2003-2018

.316 Todd Helton 1997-2013

.313 Nomar Garciaparra 1996-2009

.313 Larry Walker 1989-2005

.312 Manny Ramirez 1993-2011

.312 Edgar Martinez 1987-2004

.311 Ichiro Suzuki 2001-2018

.311 Joey Votto 2007-2018

.311 Jackie Robinson 1947-1956

.310 Derek Jeter 1995-2014

.309 Magglio Ordonez 1997-2011

.308 Mike Piazza 1992-2007

.308 Richie Ashburn 1948-1962

.307 Mike Trout 2011-2018

.307 Don Mattingly 1982-1995

.307 Matty Alou 1960-1974

.306 Joe Mauer 2004-2018

.306 Buster Posey 2009-2018

.306 Paul Molitor 1978-1998

.306 Ralph Garr 1968-1980

.305 Rusty Greer 1994-2002

.305 George Brett 1973-1993

.305 Bill Madlock 1973-1987

.305 Hank Aaron 1954-1976

.304 Robinson Cano 2005-2018

.304 Hal Morris 1988-2000

.304 Manny Mota 1962-1982

.304 Tony Oliva 1962-1976

.303 Chipper Jones 1993-2012

.303 Moises Alou 1990-2008

.303 Mark Grace 1988-2003

.303 Will Clark 1986-2000

.303 Mike Greenwell 1985-1996

.303 Pete Rose 1963-1986

.303 Al Oliver 1968-1985

.303 Harvey Kuenn 1952-1966

.302 Charlie Blackmon 2011-2018

.302 Albert Pujols 2001-2018

.302 Sean Casey 1997-2008

.302 Willie Mays 1951-1973

.301 Frank Thomas 1990-2008

.300 Dustin Pedroia 2006-2018

.300 Michael Young 2000-2013

.300 Roberto Alomar 1988-2004

.300 John Kruk 1986-1995

.300 Pedro Guerrero 1978-1992

.300 Billy Goodman 1947-1962