I am aware that there is no real difference between .299 or .298 and .300 in a career batting average but from time and memorial it has mattered to the traditions of baseball, and in baseball, traditions matter more than in any sport.
So here is an incomplete list of players who were hitting .300 or better going into their final season and lost it. Boom, like that they were out of the career .300 club.
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| Rico Carty |
Carty was hitting .303 going into 1979. He hit .256 with Toronto and finished at .299.
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| Albert Pujols |
Albert Pujols was hitting .300 before 2020 but dropped to .299 afterward.
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| Mickey Mantle |
The Mick maintained a .302 average from 1951-67. But in 1968 he hit .237 and it dropped his lifetim batting average to .298, which bothered him. "I still feel like I was a .300 hitter" he saod after his career was done.
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| Carl Furillo |
Carl Furillo only had 10 at-bats in his final season and he got 2 hits (.200). But it cost him his .300, finishing at .299.
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| Dustin Pedrioa |
Another one with minimal at-bats in his final season but it cost the magical.300 was Dustin Pedroia. At an even .300 going into 2019 he went 2 for 200 and ended at .299.
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| Jim Rice |
Jim Rice lost his career .300 in 1989, his final season. So did Cecil Cooper whose final year was 1987 when he hit .248.
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| Cecil Cooper |
Others: Ted Kluszewski, Shane Mack, Bake McBride, Frank McCormick, Frank Demaree, Sam West, Harry Rice, Pete Fox, and maybe more. I quit looking after that.
mantle is surprising.... you wouldn't expect him to hit for that high an average.
ReplyDeletePlease explain the basis for your statement. The Mick maintained a .300 plus career BA over the 1st 14 years of his career. It was the last 4 years of sub .300 BA that affected his career BA in his final year.
DeleteIn '56 and '57 he ruled baseball with season BAs of .353 and .365. If you're a stat man...
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mantlmi01.shtml
Thanks for informing me Mr Moto and yes i am quite surprised to see Mantle cranking out 300 average seasons that often. I am a younger fan (29) and didn't get the chance to see him play outside of scarce few games and highlight films. It just seemed like he was slugger type from that little footage but it seems that i was way off.
DeleteIf you want to read more about Ted Kluszewski and Frank McCormick in the future, you can visit my blog - thecooperstownadvocate.blogspot.com
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