Best batters of 1986-1990
Rickey Henderson and Eric Davis set the pace for their respective leagues
Rickey Henderson had some pop in his bat, though he was never considered to be a power hitter.
The outfielder for the New York Yankees launched a career-high 28 homers in 1986, then matched that figure in 1990 for the Oakland Athletics. Those two golden seasons bookended a half-decade in which Henderson ranked as the best hitter in the American League.
Intelligence and speed were the real keys to Henderson’s success.
No contemporary had a better understanding of the strike zone, and nobody was more adept at baserunning. His batting eye, as measured by the percentage of walks he received, was the best in the Modern Era (1961 to the present). And his 1,406 career stolen bases were far and away the most in big-league history.
Those factors propelled Henderson to the top of my 1986-1990 rankings of American League batters, the focus of this installment of my Friday-by-Friday journey through the Modern Era’s successive five-year intervals.
Henderson’s counterpart atop the National League was Eric Davis, a center fielder for the Cincinnati Reds. He hit at least 26 home runs every season between 1986 and 1990, twice reaching double digits in runs batted in.
The rankings for both leagues were based on my Five-Year Test, which analyzed every hitter in six key statistical categories:
Batting average
Slugging average
Runs scored per 500 plate appearances
Runs batted in per 500 plate appearances
Wins above replacement (WAR) per 500 plate appearances
The rankings encompassed every batter who crossed the minimum threshold of two plate appearances per game, the equivalent of 1,620 appearances in five 162-game seasons.
A total of 98 batters in the American League and 71 in the National League qualified for the 1986-1990 application of my Five-Year Test. Scroll below to see the top 20 hitters in each league.
The runners-up in the standings for 1986-1990 were Wade Boggs and Kirby Puckett in the American League, Kal Daniels and Will Clark in the National.
Each batter below is followed by a breakdown of his 1986-1990 statistics: games, hits, home runs, batting average, and bases per out. The first three stats were not part of the Five-Year Test, though they’re included here because of their undeniable interest.
This series will continue next Friday (July 29) with my rankings of batters in both leagues during the span of 1991-1995. You can see the previous standings through these links:
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American League top batters (series so far)
1961-1965: Mickey Mantle
1966-1970: Frank Robinson
1971-1975: Reggie Jackson
1976-1980: George Brett
1981-1985: Eddie Murray
1986-1990: Rickey Henderson
National League top batters (series so far)
1961-1965: Willie Mays
1966-1970: Willie McCovey
1971-1975: Willie Stargell
1976-1980: George Foster
1981-1985: Mike Schmidt
1986-1990: Eric Davis
American League top 20 batters (1986-1990)
1. Rickey Henderson, G 674, H 740, HR 91, BA .290, BPO 1.057
2. Wade Boggs, G 762, H 1,013, HR 46, BA .343, BPO .971
3. Kirby Puckett, G 781, H 1,043, HR 104, BA .331, BPO .839
4. Fred McGriff, G 578, H 540, HR 125, BA .278, BPO .973
5. Jose Canseco, G 670, H 686, HR 160, BA .269, BPO .877
6. Mike Greenwell, G 618, H 697, HR 69, BA .313, BPO .867
7. Paul Molitor, G 635, H 790, HR 61, BA .311, BPO .890
8. Don Mattingly, G 707, H 902, HR 107, BA .314, BPO .813
9. George Brett, G 662, H 740, HR 88, BA .301, BPO .894
10. Alan Trammell, G 697, H 788, HR 83, BA .298, BPO .822
11. Kent Hrbek, G 687, H 685, HR 135, BA .285, BPO .890
12. Dwight Evans, G 724, H 725, HR 114, BA .279, BPO .885
13. Mark McGwire, G 623, H 550, HR 156, BA .253, BPO .881
14. Ellis Burks, G 526, H 606, HR 71, BA .291, BPO .818
15. Robin Yount, G 778, H 891, HR 81, BA .299, BPO .839
16. George Bell, G 766, H 882, HR 141, BA .290, BPO .767
17. Dave Winfield, G 591, H 613, HR 97, BA .282, BPO .810
18. Danny Tartabull, G 662, H 659, HR 118, BA .280, BPO .863
19. Joe Carter, G 630, H 681, HR 123, BA .270, BPO .788
20. Alvin Davis, G 714, H 734, HR 103, BA .290, BPO .876
National League top 20 batters (1986-1990)
1. Eric Davis, G 654, H 631, HR 148, BA .277, BPO 1.022
2. Kal Daniels, G 507, H 500, HR 81, BA .300, BPO 1.006
3. Will Clark, G 736, H 815, HR 117, BA .302, BPO .900
4. Darryl Strawberry, G 729, H 677, HR 171, BA .264, BPO .955
5. Jack Clark, G 453, H 374, HR 95, BA .260, BPO 1.056
6. Kevin Mitchell, G 681, H 658, HR 135, BA .278, BPO .870
7. Mike Schmidt, G 457, H 440, HR 90, BA .273, BPO .876
8. Barry Bonds, G 717, H 688, HR 117, BA .265, BPO .907
9. Tim Raines, G 674, H 764, HR 57, BA .304, BPO .968
10. Tony Gwynn, G 749, H 972, HR 36, BA .332, BPO .858
11. Andre Dawson, G 705, H 767, HR 141, BA .289, BPO .829
12. Kevin McReynolds, G 751, H 771, HR 128, BA .279, BPO .813
13. Bobby Bonilla, G 686, H 694, HR 96, BA .280, BPO .810
14. Howard Johnson, G 700, H 623, HR 129, BA .256, BPO .888
15. Andy Van Slyke, G 714, H 700, HR 85, BA .276, BPO .830
16. Ryne Sandberg, G 753, H 859, HR 119, BA .287, BPO .809
17. Pedro Guerrero, G 584, H 620, HR 72, BA .304, BPO .841
18. Von Hayes, G 703, H 702, HR 89, BA .276, BPO .882
19. Glenn Davis, G 712, H 687, HR 144, BA .262, BPO .812
20. Lenny Dykstra, G 700, H 679, HR 42, BA .284, BPO .816