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The 10 Best Hitting Seasons Ever

The Top 10 Offensive Seasons by the Best MLB Hitters in History

Apr 25, 2007

With so many great seasons by so many great MLB players to choose from, it's hard to narrow the best seasons ever down to just ten. Here's a shot, though.

Needless to say, there have been a lot of great offensive years since the first professional baseball season in 1869. One needn’t look very far to find an abundance of historic-level offensive performances. Take Albert Pujols, for example. He just put together a truly historic offensive run from 2001 to 2006. Barry Bonds had his own legendary stretch from 2001 to 2004. There are many, many others: Jim Rice in 1978, Ted Williams in 1941, and Hank Greenberg in 1937. There's also Albert Belle's 1999 season, and pretty much every season that Ruth and Gehrig suited up for the Yankees. Yes, there are many great ones. But only ten can make the list. I guess that’s why it’s called a Top 10 List. So here they are, the Top 10 MLB Hitting Seasons of all time and the players that accomplished these feats.

10. Mickey Mantle - 1956 New York Yankees

(.353 Batting Average, 52 Home Runs, 130 RBI, 132 Runs, 112 BB, .705 Slg. %.)

During the regular season in 1956, Mickey Mantle won the AL Triple Crown and the AL MVP award. In the World Series, he hit 3 home runs, had 4 RBI, 6 walks and 6 runs scored and led the Yankees to victory. His 52 home runs were a record for a switch-hitter; a record that Mantle broke with 54 long balls in 1961. In addition to leading the league in batting, homers and RBI that year, he also topped the circuit in runs scored, total bases, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage.

9. Joe DiMaggio - 1937 New York Yankees

(.346 Batting Average, 15 Triples, 46 Home Runs, 167 RBI, 151 Runs, 418 Total Bases)

This just as easily could have been the 1941 season, the year he hit in 56 straight games and won his second MVP. But DiMaggio's statistics from the 1937 season are actually far better than his 1941 numbers. He hit more homers (46 to his 30), drove in more runs (167 to his 125), and scored more runs (151 to his 123). He definitely had a better year in 1937 and it will go down in MLB history as one fo the best seasons for an individual player, ever.

8. Chuck Klein - 1930 Philadelphia Phillies

(.386 Batting Average, 250 Hits, 59 Doubles, 40 Home Runs, 170 RBI, 158 Runs, 445 Total Bases)

To put Klein's 1930 season into the proper perspective, think about the following: (1) his batting average was higher than any number Tony Gwynn ever put up in a full season, (2) he had the sixth most hits ever in a single season, (3) he had the seventh most doubles of all time, (4) he had the eight highest RBI total in baseball history; and (5) he scored the second most runs in a season since 1925. Oh, and his 445 Total Bases were the fourth best in the 130-plus years of major league baseball. Good enough for eighth place.

7. Hack Wilson - 1931 Chicago Cubs

(.356 Batting Average, 56 Home Runs, 191 RBI, 146 Runs, .723 Slg. %, 423 Total Bases)

Wilson was one of the most feared hitters in the National League from 1925 until his greatest season in 1930, and then his career fell off abruptly due to injuries and what has been reported to be severe alcohol abuse. One reporter said of the five-foot six-inch, 200-pound Wilson, "he was built like a beer keg and was also quite familiar with the contents of one." Wilson's 1930 season is so legendary because he set the single season RBI record with 191. (Interestingly, the record was considered 190 for over 60 years, but baseball changed it to 191 when a baseball researcher allegedly found a lost RBI on an old score sheet.) Wilson also led the league in slugging, total bases and OPS.

Number 6. Rogers Hornsby - 1922 St. Louis Cardinals

(.401 Batting Average, 250 Hits, 46 Doubles, 14 Triples, 42 Home Runs, 152 RBI, 450 Total Bases)

Hornsby had one heck of a season in 1922. Smack dab in the middle of his legendary five year offensive run, the Rajah had his greatest ever season. He won the first of his two Triple Crown awards. He had 450 Total Bases, which is still the second highest total ever. His hit total was the sixth most in history. He led the National League in runs scored and slugging percentage. He also became the first and only player in all of baseball history to hit over .400 and swat more than 40 home runs in the same season.

The Top 5 Offensive Seasons are on Page 2 of this article.

The copyright of the article The 10 Best Hitting Seasons Ever in Baseball is owned by James Lincoln Ray. Permission to republish The 10 Best Hitting Seasons Ever in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.