The 1920s. It was the decade that gave America such historic figures as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jack Dempsey and most unforgettably, Herbert Hoover. It also gave the country the most celebrated athlete in history. His name was George Herman Ruth, but he was better known as the Babe.
During the prior decade, Ruth was a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. But by 1920, he had transformed himself into a home run slugging rightfielder for Boston's chief rival, the New York Yankees. Ruth was just one of six Hall of Famers who put together legendary hitting careers that peaked during the decade, and were the greatest hitters of the 1920s.
Babe Ruth - New York Yankees
The Bambino started off the decade in dramatic fashion. In his inaugural campaign with the Yankees, which was also his first season as a pure position player, Ruth hit .376 with 54 home runs and 137 RBI. He also set a record with an .849 Slugging Percentage, a mark that stood until Barry Bonds finally topped it in 2001. To put Ruth's home run prowess into perspective, his 54 dingers beat every other team in baseball except for the Philadelphia Phillies, who managed to hit a grand total of 64.
Ruth didn't slow down for a long time. He topped 50 home runs a total of four times during the 1920s, including his 60 blasts that stood as a single season record until 1961.
For the decade, he hit .353, and averaged 47 home runs and 134 RBI. His 467 homers are the most ever hit by any player in a single decade, and has been approached only once, by Mark McGwire who hit 435 round-trippers in the 1990s.
Rogers Hornsby - St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Braves and Chicago Cubs
Perhaps no players except Babe Ruth and Barry Bonds had a better five year hitting stretch than Hornsby had from 1920-1924. Over that five year period, the Rajah hit for an almost inconceivable .401.
Over the course of the decade, Hornsby batted .382, and averaged 24 homers, 115 RBI and 120 Runs per season. He walked away with the 1925 National League MVP award.
Ty Cobb - Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Athletics
Cobb was the best hitter of the 'teens, and he only slipped slightly during the 1920s, a period when he was 33 to 42 years old. Over the decade, Cobb averaged .355 with 6 homers and 85 RBI. He retired after 24 seasons in the majors at the end of the 1928 campaign, a season in which he hit .328. Not too shabby for a 42 year old.
Harry Heilmann - Detroit Tigers
Not enough people know about this Hall of Fame slugger. During the decade, he hit .364 and averaged 13 home runs and 113 RBI.
George Sisler - St. Louis Browns and Washington Senators
Playing for the St. Louis Browns, who were one of the worst franchises in baseball history, Sisler hit over .400 twice during the 1920s. During the 10 year span, hit .347 and averaged 19 home runs, 92 RBI, 110 runs and 203 hits.
In 1920, Sisler collected 257 hits, a single season record that stood until Ichiro Suzuki broke it in 2004 with 262 hits. Sisler finished his career after the 1930 season and was elected and inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1939.
Al Simmons - Philadelphia Althletics
Al Simmons is another Hall of Fame hitter whose career was overshadowed by the likes of Ruth and Hornsby in the 1920s and Jimmie Foxx in the 1930s. But he was one of the true greats. Simmons debuted in 1924, and from that season through the close of the decade, he hit .357 with 19 homers, 118 RBI and 103 RBI.
Simmons made the Hall of Fame on the strength of his career .334 batting average, a grand total of 2,927 hits and more than 1,800 RBI.
That is the best group of hitters from the 1920s. Here are links where you can read about the greatest hitters in baseball today, the 400 home run club and the 3000 hit club.
