Can you name these MLB Career Batting Average Leaders?
By: J.P. Naomi
3 min
Image: Louis Van Oeyen
About This Quiz
Think you have what it takes to knock this one out of the park!? Only the best in baseball minds will ace this quiz! It's time to see how well you know some of the greatest sluggers of Major League Baseball history!Â
From the great days of Ty Cobb and Ginger Thompson to the more recent times of Wade Boggs and Manny Ramirez, ball players have always had one goal in mind when they step up to that plate: knock it out of the park! So now we challenge you to do the same! Have you practiced enough? Have you studied the tricks of the opposing pitcher? Can you swing at just the right time and bring your teammates home? Every move you make will determine if you join the ranks of these career batting average leaders or have you walkin' back to that dugout with your head hung low! So are you ready to give it a swing?
Please step up to the plate and let's see what you've got! The bases are loaded and one of the leading ERA pitchers is at the mound ... Your walk-up song echoes through the park. Channel your inner Rogers Hornsby or Stan Musial and get ready for this challenge! Good luck and remember, don't buckle under pressure!Â
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Can you name this famous slugger?
Heinie Manush
Ty Cobb
Did you know that Ty Cobb's nickname was The Georgia Peach? Born in Narrows, Georgia, Cobb spent 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers and finished his career with the Philadelphia Athletics. He has the all-time leading batting average of .367.
Shoeless Joe Jackson played in the league from 1908 - 1920, earning a batting average of .356. Did you know that he hit for a .408 average in 1911, making it the sixth-highest single-season total since 1901?
Edward James Delahanty was nicknamed "Big Ed." He played from 1888 - 1903 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland Infants and Washington Senators, earning a career batting average of .346.
The Grey Eagle was a center fielder during his time in the MLB. He had a batting average of .345 and 3,514 hits during his 21-year career with the Red Sox, Indians, Senators and Athletics.
Theodore Samuel Williams played his entire 19-year career as a left fielder for the Boston Red Sox from 1939 to 1960. He finished his career with a .344 batting average and 251 home runs!
Billy Hamilton was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1961. As of 2016, he is third on the all-time list of career stolen bases leaders! His career batting average was .344.
Did you know Babe Ruth's real name was George Herman Ruth Jr? He played 22 seasons in the MLB with both the Red Sox and the Yankees. His batting average was .342.
Harry Heilmann wasn't the fastest of runners ... he was nicknamed Slug! Despite that, however, he proudly compiled a career batting average of .342 - the 12th highest in MLB history!
__________ has one of the greatest batting averages of all time!
Jimmie Foxx
Paul Waner
Earle Combs
Willie Keeler
William Henry Keeler played from 1892 to 1910, primarily for the Baltimore Orioles, Brooklyn Superbas and the New York Highlanders. He is remembered as one of the greatest contact hitters of all time and was notoriously hard to strike out!
William Harold Terry was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1954. In 1999, he ranked number 59 on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players. He had a batting average of .341!
Did you know that from 1920 until 2004, Sisler held the MLB record for most hits in a single season with 257?! Throughout his 15-year career, he compiled a batting average of .340.
Which famous baseball player is seen in this photo?
Lou Gehrig
The Iron Horse played his entire 17-year career with the New York Yankees. He had a career .340 batting average, 492 home runs, and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939.
Nap Lajoie was born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island in 1874. During his career, he compiled a .339 batting average, 3,252 hits, 82 home runs and 1,599 runs batted in!
Did you know that Jesse Burkett's nickname was "Crab"? A left fielder from 1890 - 1905, Crab batted over .400 twice! His career batting average settled at .338, and he was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946.
Anthony Keith Gwynn Sr. played 20 seasonsin the MLB for the San Diego Padres. In fact, he was nicknamed "Mr. Padre"! His career batting average was .338.
Jackson Riggs "Warhorse" Stephenson played in the MLB from 1921 - 1934 for the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago Cubs. He had a .336 batting average and 63 home runs in his career!
Dennis Joseph "Dan" Brouthers was a first baseman from 1879 to 1896, with a brief return in 1904. He was nicknamed "Big Dan" for his size ... he was 6 feet 2 inches and weighed 207 pounds!
Bucketfoot Al was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953. During his career, he compiled a .334 batting average, 2,927 hits, 307 home runs and 1,827 runs batted in!
Big Poison Paul Waner won three National League batting titles as well as the National League Most Valuable Player Award while with the Pirates. He was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1952 with a batting average of .333.
Eddie Collins was a second baseman from 1906 - 1930. During that time, he became just the sixth person to join the 3,000-hit club. His career ended with a .333 batting average!
Mike Donlin's MLB career spanned from 1899 to 1914. During that time, he played for seven different teams! Most notable was his time with the New York Giants. He ended his career with a .333 batting average.
Wiki Commons via Stevens, Chicago - Heritage Auction Galler
________ is seen in this photo.
Cap Anson
Cap, or Pop as they called him, spent most of his career with the Chicago Cubs. He is remembered as one of baseball's first great hitters, earning a batting average of .334 from 1871 - 1897.
Stan the Man spent 22 seasons in the MLB playing for the St. Louis Cardinals. With a career batting average of .331, he was a first-ballot inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969.
Henry Emmett Manush was a left fielder who played 17 years in the MLB. A native of Tuscumbia, Alabama, he was one of the best batters in baseball in the 1920s and 1930s. He compiled a .330 career batting average.
Born in Chartiers Borough, Pennsylvania, Honus Wagner was nicknamed "Hans." He played 21 seasons, nearly all for the Pittsburgh Pirates, from 1897 - 1917. He ended his career with a .329 batting average.
Wade Boggs spent his 18-year baseball career mostly with the Boston Red Sox, but he also played for the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. A 12-time All-Star, Boggs ended his career with a .328 batting average and 3,010 hits!
Did you know that Carew was never a home run threat? Only 92 of his 3,053 hits were home runs! That being said, however, he made a career out of being a consistent contact hitter, and compiled a .328 career batting average.
Right fielder Big Sam made his MLB debut on July 2, 1885 for the Detroit Wolverines. He had a .331 career batting average and is one of the most prolific run producers in baseball history!
Bob Fothergill played 12 seasons in the MLB with the Detroit Tigers (1922–1930), Chicago White Sox (1930–1932), and Boston Red Sox (1933). He compiled a .325 career batting average and was one of the best hitters in baseball in the late 1920s!
Nicknamed "Double X," Foxx became the second player in MLB history to hit 500 career home runs, after Babe Ruth. He played 20 seasons in the MLB for the Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies.
Earle Bryan Combs played his entire career for the New York Yankees from 1924 - 1935. For his career, Combs hit .325, had an on-base average of .397 and averaged nearly 200 hits, 75 walks and only 31 strikeouts a season.
Joltin' Joe, the Yankee Clipper! Joe DiMaggio was a three-time Most Valuable Player Award winner and an All-Star in each of his 13 seasons. During those years, he compiled a .325 batting average, 2,214 hits, 361 home runs and 1,537 runs batted in!
Born in Cranston, Rhode Island, Hugh Duffy made his MLB debut on June 23, 1888 for the Chicago White Stockings! He played in the league for several other teams, ending with the Philadelphia Phillies on April 13, 1906. His career batting average was .325.
Did you know that Joe Medwick's nickname was "Ducky"? He was a left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals during the "Gashouse Gang" era of the 1930s. He also played for the Brooklyn Dodgers (1940–1943, 1946), New York Giants (1943–1945) and Boston Braves (1945). His career batting average was .324.
Edd J. Roush finished his 18-year career with a .323 lifetime average, 268 stolen bases and 182 triples. He never struck out more than 25 times in a season and had 30 inside-the-park home runs. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962!