First off, we’re not going to just go off WAR and OPS and call it a day. This is an accumulation of the basic stats, the AVG/OBP/SLG/OPS line, the more in depth stats, the accomplishments and accolades that season, how dominant he was in comparison to the rest of the field that year, how that years stats matches up with the all timers. Unique factors about the player and year. All of the above, and then some.
I composed a shortlist of candidates I found worthy of the honor throughout my research and suggestions from close friends. I’ll list the player, the specific year, the notable stats, followed by the argument of why its G.O.A.T. tier (in no particular order):
Ichiro Suzuki, 2001
- .350 AVG, 242 Hits, 56 SBs, 738 Plate App, 692 ABs, 13.1 AB per K, .997 FLD% (Led Majors in Those Categories)
- 1 Error In 152 Games Played (1,313.2 Innings)
- 127 R, 34 2Bs, 8 3Bs, 8 Outfield Assists
- His First Postseason Series In MLB vs CLE: 12 For 20 (.600 AVG), 0 Ks
- More Stolen Bases (56) Than Ks (53)
His first year in the MLB and makes it call him daddy. The definition of symbolically taking something by the scruff of the neck, one goddamn error? I mean stop it. I know the 8 HRs and 69 RBIs aren’t too attractive when we’re talking about the G.O.A.T. of seasons, and he had more hits and a higher AVG in 2004, but nearly everything else is about as good as you can do it. The primary man behind an 116 win M’s year. We were all simply just blown away at the time at the way could hit while starting his run at the same time, but he wasn’t just doing it, he was the best pure hitter in the world while doing it. The impact he made on western baseball, solely on play alone, after just his first year here in America, I believe makes 2001 Ichiro one of the closest things to a perfect player as you can ask for.
Hugh Duffy, 1894
- .440 AVG, 237 Hits, 51 2Bs, 18 HRs, 1,196 OPS, 374 Total Bases (Led League)
- 160 Runs, 48 Stolen Bases, 16 Triples, 145 RBIs, .502 OBP, .694 SLG
- Struck Out 15 Times In 125 Games
You read that right. .440 AVG. Four. Forty. That alone gets a lock for top 10 seasons ever, and i don’t care if fastballs were topping at 84 MPH, .440 is .440. But add on everything else? On top of the fact that this was 26 years before the Bambino wore pinstripes. 18 HRs was superhero level at that time. The Boston Beaneaters finished 3rd that year, but the sheer dominance, in every single stat category. Numbers that would hold up in every decade up to today, and then some. Seeing that .440 gives you those goosebumps, from the mysticism of the early days in the game. Wishing you could’ve actually seen this guy do that. Truly one of the baseball gods.
Nap Lajoie, 1901
- Triple Crown (14 HRs, 125 RBIs, .426 AVG)
- 145 Runs, 232 Hits, 48 2Bs, .463 OBP, .643 SLG, 1,106 OPS, 350 Total Bases (Led League)
- 27 Stolen Bases
If you win the Triple Crown hitting .426, you have to be in this conversation. Sweeping nearly every statistical offensive category, Napoleon was, like Hugh, one of the games first pioneer superstars, and this 1901 season is his golden year.
Babe Ruth, 1921
- 177 Runs, 59 HRs, 168 RBIs, 145 BBs, .512 OBP, .846 SLG, 1.359 OPS, 457 Total Bases (Led League)
- 204 Hits, 44 2Bs, 16 3Bs, 17 SBs, .378 AVG
This was Babe’s second year in New York, established star from his Boston success. The first year in New York was the first real serious glimpse of his, at the time, godlike hitting. To follow it up with, well, THAT statline above, 1921 was the birth of Babe-O-Mania. Because of that, 1921 is immensely significant to the explosion of popularity of the game of baseball. Guys were hitting on legend status before Babe was even born, yes. The sheer brute power that the game never saw up to that point however, changed the game forever. It can be argued that no single player ever changed the game of baseball more than this specific season’s performance from George.
Rogers Hornsby, 1922
- 141 Runs, 250 Hits, 46 2Bs, 42 HRs, 152 RBIs, .401 AVG, .459 OBP, .722 SLG, 1.181 OPS, 450 Total Bases (Led League)
- 50 Ks in 154 Games Played
- Triple Crown
I could spend days naming every single Triple Crown winner, so narrowing it down to the best TC years had to be done, and it was impossible to leave this one off. I mean it’s almost as if he was challenging Ruth, or saw his 1921 season as a challenge, and absolutely destroyed the National League. and despite his 5’11, 175 lb frame in his hey-day, he still put up these mammoth numbers, showcasing the top tier quality of a swing he had. The contact/power combo he possessed that year is almost mythological. You’re just not supposed to be that good.
Ted Williams, 1941
135 Runs, 37 HRs, 147 BBs, .406 AVG, .553 OBP, .735 SLG, 1.287 OPS (Led League)
185 Hits, 33 2Bs, 120 RBIs, 335 Total Bases
Only Struck Out 27 Times (143 Games Played)
I couldn’t leave his name off this list. He’s got 5 seasons worthy of being on here, figuring out which one to pick was half the battle in my research. In the end, Teddy was on base more often than he wasn’t that year. Combine that with just 27 Ks, and sprinkle the famous .406 AVG on top of it, and you got the best season the greatest hitter that ever lived, ever had. Not to mention that absurd .735 SLG. The greatest deserved his spot on this list.
Barry Bonds, 1993
46 HRs, 123 RBIs, .458 OBP, .677 SLG, 1.136 OPS, 365 Total Bases
181 Hits (Season High For His Career), .336 AVG, 129 Runs, 38 2Bs, 29 SBs, 126 BBs (Not intentional)
Another one I couldn’t leave off this, and another with about 5 seasons worthy of making this list, but I went on his ’93 year on a number of factors. The first being the jump he took in between his back to back MVP seasons from ’92 to ’93. Just hit another level. Combine that with the move he made from Pittsburgh to San Francisco in between those seasons, and it was the first time we saw the max potential of Barry hit. the insane amount of intentional walks he got later in his career from being such a renowned, feared hitter could be credited to him hitting his peak in ’93. Another reason why I chose ’93 was not his immense power put on display, but the pure contact hitting on an elite level, even for his standards, made, in my opinion, the greatest season a “five tool player” has ever had.
Between comparing those seasons, between different eras, the different styles of the players, the furthest I could’ve gone was make a shortlist. I could make another list entirely off just the honorable mentions alone. Narrowing it down to one would take a lifetime. Those seasons above though were just the cream of the crop. In their own unique ways, years spanning the entire history of the sport. No matter the era, you had guys testing the limits of just how disgustingly good a hitter can be in this sport.
