Ranking 15 Best MLB Batting Average

All the teams want to have a reliable batman, and the hunt for the batter with the best batting average begins. Scouts might find the players, but it’s bot easy for the players as it seems.

Maintaining a high MLB batting average is not an easy task. After a few games, the pitchers will find some weakness in the batter.

Then the batters have to buckle up and try to manage their weakness. Sadly, not all players manage to overcome their weaknesses.

So, in this list top 15 batters with the best MLB batting average are described.

Ranking 15 Best MLB Batting Average

While preparing the list, batters from all-time were considered. The stats of the batters are picked up from Baseball-reference.

15. Harry Heilmann

Kicking off our list of 15 best MLB batting average is Harry Heilman. Heilman played as a right fielder and First baseman for the Detroit Tigers and Cincinnati Reds.

The four-times batting champion has a batting average of .3416. Throughout his career, he hit 183 home runs with an RBI of 1,543.

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Additionally, he had Wins Above Replacement (WAR) of 72.5 games. Apart from that, he managed to steal 113 bases.

14. Dave Orr

The first player from the nineteenth century is Dave Orr. Dave Orr played for five different teams.

Some teams he played for, such as Columbus Solons and Brooklyn War’s Wonders, don’t even exist now. He retired in 1890.

Throughout his career, he scored 536 runs with an average of .3420. He had an RBI of 627.

In his career, he won the batting champion, RBI champion, hits leader (two times), and triples leader awards (two times).

13. Babe Ruth

Two times All-Star Babe Ruth played in the MLB from 1914 to 1935. During his twenty-one-year career, he scored 2,873 runs.

Despite having an excellent average, he also played as a pitcher. Initially, he played as the pitcher for the Boston Red Sox.

He achieved fame and success as an Outfielder for the New York Yankees. During his stay with the Yankees, he won the home run leader award 12 times.

Similarly, he won the RBI leader award 6 times. Apart from that, he was the MVP in 1923.

Babe Ruth won 7 World Series Championships during his stay with Red Sox and the Yankees.

12. Dan Brouthers

Yet, another player from the nineteenth century on this list is Dan Brouthers. He played for ten different teams.

Dan made his debut in 1879 and played till 1904. In this period, he hit 2,296 runs while scoring 106 home runs with 1,296 RBI.

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He was the home run leader two times and RBI leader two times. In 1945, Brouthers was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

11. Ted Williams

An absolute legend of the baseball game, Ted Williams played in the MLB from 1939 to 1960. He played for the Boston Red Sox.

During his career, he had a batting average of .3444. Similarly, he scored 521 home runs with an RBI of 1,839.

Ted Williams has the highest on-base percentage with .482. In his career, he scored 1798 runs.

Briefly, he also served in the Second World War from 1942 to 1946. After retiring as a player, he continued his career in the MLB as a manager.

As a player, he won the MVP two times. Similarly, he won the Triple Crown two times. Six times batting champion Williams was also the home run leader four times.

Similarly, he was the RBI leader four times. Ted Williams was selected to the All-Star nineteen times.

10. Billy Hamilton

Another player on the list of 15 best MLB batting average is Billy Hamilton. He played from 1888 to 1901 for three different teams.

Billy played for the Kansas City Cowboys, Philadelphia Phillies, and Boston Beaneaters. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1961.

Throughout his career, he batted with an average of .3444. However, he hit only 40 home runs.

But he managed to steal 912 bases with an RBI of 742. Apart from that, he had a Wins Above Replacement for 63.2

Billy was the batting champion two times and stolen base leader five times. With 912 stolen bases, he managed to steal the third-highest bases of all time.

9. Tris Speaker

The center fielder, Tris Speaker, made his debut in 1907 for Boston Americans (current Red Sox). He continued to play the game till 1926.

Later, he became the manager of the Cleveland Indians while he was playing as a player. So he was both the player as well as the manager.

Under his managership, the Cleveland Indians won the World Series in 1920. Apart from that, he was part of two World-Series winning teams in Boston Americans.

Tris was also the Most Valuable Player of the tournament in 1912. Similarly, he was the batting champion in 1916. Apart from that, he was the RBI leader in 1923.

Tris Speaker has the highest career doubles of all time. He made 792 career doubles.

8. Ed Delahanty

‘Big Ed‘ is one of the best MLB batters of all time. He made his debut for the Philadelphia Quackers in 1888.

Similarly, he played his last game for the Washington Senators in 1903. In between, he hit 101 home runs.

Additionally, he stole 455 bases with an RBI of 1,464. Plus, he had Wins Above Replacement of 69.6 games.

In 1899, he won the batting champion award. Similarly, he was the home run leader two times and RBI leader three times.

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Ed Delahanty was also the stolen base leader in 1898. Apart from that, he hit 4 home runs in a single game.

In 1945, Delahanty was inducted into the Baseball Hall of fame.

7. Turkey Stearnes

Another player on the list of 15 best MLB batting average is Turkey Stearnes. Turkey Stearnes played in the Negro leagues.

At the time, the players in the Negro league were ignored due to racism. However, their contribution and statistics are slowly being uncovered now.

In his career, he hit 176 home runs. He had an RBI of 997 with 129 stolen bases. Apart from that, he had Wins Above Replacement of 49.7 games.

In 2000, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. The five times All-Star player had the highest number of triplets. 

6. Lefty O’Doul

Lefty O’Doul missed the 0.350 batting average mark by just 0.007. Even the average of 0.3493 is an average every player wishes.

Lefty O’Doul made his debut in the MLB league in 1919. He retired in 1934. In between, he played for six different teams.

During his career, he hit 113 runs with 542 RBI. Interestingly, he made the All-Star team only once.

But, he won the batting champion award two times in 1929 and 1932. His other stats include 624 runs and 36 stolen bases.

After retiring as a player, O’Doul returned to the MLB as a manager. He worked as a manager for the San Francisco Seals from 1935 and 1951.

5. Jud Wilson

Another great player from the Negro leagues is Jud Wilson. Wilson played as a Third baseman for four different teams.

He made his debut in 1922 for the Baltimore Black Sox, and in 1939, he finally retired from the league. At the time, he was playing for the Philadelphia Stars.

He is also the first player on this list to hit the 0.350 batting average. His batting average was .3519.

Throughout his career, he made 618 runs with 724 RBI. Apart from that, he hit 77 home runs with stealing 104 bases.

Due to the lack of data about the Negro leagues, very few of his achievements are known to the public.

4. Shoeless Joe Jackson

Joseph Jefferson Jackson ‘Shoeless Joe Jackson‘ played in the MLB from 1908 to 1920. During the time, he played for three different teams.

Jackson played for Philadephia Athletics, Cleveland Naps/Indiana, and Chicago White Sox. He is included in the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame.

Throughout his career, he batted at an average of .3558 with 873 runs. Similarly, he hit 54 home runs with 792 RBI.

Apart from that, he stole 202 bases in his career. In 1917, he was part of the World-Series winning team in the Chicago White Sox.

However, in 1919 he was accused of participating in a conspiracy to fix the World Series also.

3. Rogers Hornsby

Rogers Hornsby had an illustrious career as both a player and a manager. As a player, he played in the league from 1915 to 1937.

After retiring as a player, he returned back as a manager in 1925. He finally retired as a manager in 1953.

He had a batting average of .358 from 2259 games. During the period, he scored 1579 runs from 1584 RBI.

Apart from that, he managed to steal 135 bases. Similarly, he had a Win Above Replacement of 127.3 games.

His major career highlights include winning the World Series Championship in 1926. He was the Most Valuable Player two times, Triple Crown two times, batting champion seven times, and RBI leader four times.

2. Oscar Charleston

The second player on this list with the best MLB batting average is Oscar Charleston. Charleston played in the Negro league from 1915 to 1941.

After retiring as a player, he returned as a manager to the MLB. He worked as a manager till 1954.

As a batter, he was a strong hitter. Oscar Charleston hit 143 home runs. Similarly, he hit 855 home runs with 853 RBI.

Apart from that, he managed to steal 209 bases. Additionally, he has Wins Above Replacement of 48.3 games.

1. Ty Cobb

The player with the highest MLB batting average is Ty Cobb. As a player, he has an unparalleled record in batting.

His batting average is .366, while he scored 2245 runs with 1944 RBI. Additionally, he managed to steal 897 bases.

Apart from that, he hit 117 home runs. His Wins Above Replacement of 151.5 games is also very high.

As a player, he played for the Detroit Tigers and Philadephia Athletics. Later, he also worked as the manager of the Detroit Tigers

He won the MVP award in 1911. Plus, he was the batting champion twelve times, BRI leader four times, stolen base leader six times.

Similarly, he was the home run leader in 1909 and won the Triple Crown in 1909.

Conclusion

Interestingly, there are no modern players with high batting averages. Who is your favorite player on the list?