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Best batters of 2001-2005

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Best batters of 2001-2005

Rodriguez and Bonds win top honors, though they’re shadowed by PED accusations

G. Scott Thomas
Aug 12, 2022
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Best batters of 2001-2005

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My weekly breakdown of the greatest hitters during five-year intervals has reached the twenty-first century. And Alex Rodriguez and Barry Bonds have emerged as the latest champions.

Rodriguez split the period of 2001-2005 between two positions and clubs — shortstop for the Texas Rangers (2001-2003) and third baseman for the New York Yankees (2004-2005). He won an American League Most Valuable Player Award at each stop (2003, 2005), and he blasted a five-year total of 240 home runs. Nobody else in the AL had more than 199.

Bonds spent all five seasons as the left fielder for the San Francisco Giants and the almost-permanent owner of the National League’s MVP trophy, which he won four years running (2001-2004). His five-year batting average of .347 was eight points better than the BA for anybody else in the majors.

There’s an asterisk, of course. Rodriguez admitted to taking performance-enhancing drugs during his Texas stay, and Bonds was suspected of similar transgressions, though the latter remain unproven.

But the ratings for 2001-2005 don’t take PEDs into account. They’re based solely on my Five-Year Test, which ranks hitters in these categories:

  • Batting average

  • Slugging average

  • Bases per out

  • Runs scored per 500 plate appearances

  • Runs batted in per 500 plate appearances

  • Wins above replacement (WAR) per 500 plate appearances

The 2001-2005 rankings include every batter who made a minimum of two plate appearances per game, spread out over the full five-year period. That would translate to a threshold of 1,620 appearances over a normal schedule.

A total of 93 batters qualified for the American League rankings, as did 96 in the National League. The AL hitters collectively carried a batting average (BA) of .277 and a ratio of bases per out (BPO) of .784 during the half-decade. The corresponding figures for the NL were a .279 BA and an .803 BPO.

Right behind Rodriguez in the American League’s rankings for 2001-2005 were Manny Ramirez and Jason Giambi. Next to Bonds on the National League side were Albert Pujols and Todd Helton. The two AL runners-up were also shadowed by steroid suspicions and allegations. The two in the NL were not.

Scroll down to find lists of both leagues' 20 best hitters in the period. Each batter is followed by a breakdown of his 2001-2005 statistics: games, hits, home runs, batting average, and bases per out. The first three stats were not part of the Five-Year Test, but I've added them here to provide a bit of context.

I started this series on June 17 with a breakdown of the period from 1961 to 1965, and I’ll keep going each subsequent Friday until I reach 2016-2020. Next week’s edition, naturally enough, will be devoted to the best hitters of 2006-2010.

You can see the previous standings through these links:

  • 1961-1965

  • 1966-1970

  • 1971-1975

  • 1976-1980

  • 1981-1985

  • 1986-1990

  • 1991-1995

  • 1996-2000


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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

  • 1991-1995: Frank Thomas

  • 1996-2000: Ken Griffey Jr.

  • 2001-2005: Alex Rodriguez

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

  • 1991-1995: Barry Bonds

  • 1996-2000: Larry Walker

  • 2001-2005: Barry Bonds

American League top 20 batters (2001-2005)

  • 1. Alex Rodriguez, G 802, H 935, HR 240, BA .305, BPO 1.078

  • 2. Manny Ramirez, G 720, H 836, HR 199, BA .315, BPO 1.087

  • 3. Jason Giambi, G 684, H 656, HR 164, BA .286, BPO 1.109

  • 4. Carlos Delgado, G 594, H 595, HR 146, BA .282, BPO 1.048

  • 5. Carlos Beltran, G 527, H 597, HR 94, BA .293, BPO .951

  • 6. Magglio Ordonez, G 607, H 713, HR 115, BA .311, BPO .912

  • 7. David Ortiz, G 651, H 667, HR 157, BA .284, BPO .962

  • 8. Nomar Garciaparra, G 371, H 469, HR 61, BA .306, BPO .855

  • 9. Mark Teixeira, G 453, H 484, HR 107, BA .282, BPO .908

  • 10. Mike Sweeney, G 609, H 704, HR 112, BA .306, BPO .902

  • 11. Miguel Tejada, G 810, H 949, HR 152, BA .294, BPO .810

  • 12. Eric Chavez, G 745, H 785, HR 151, BA .278, BPO .853

  • 13. Trot Nixon, G 606, H 580, HR 98, BA .281, BPO .887

  • 14. Ivan Rodriguez, G 483, H 579, HR 77, BA .308, BPO .797

  • 15. Ichiro Suzuki, G 796, H 1,130, HR 52, BA .332, BPO .832

  • 16. Hideki Matsui, G 487, H 545, HR 70, BA .297, BPO .832

  • 17. Derek Jeter, G 739, H 928, HR 91, BA .306, BPO .838

  • 18. Frank Thomas, G 429, H 381, HR 104, BA .257, BPO .964

  • 19. Bill Mueller, G 406, H 437, HR 41, BA .303, BPO .833

  • 20. Troy Glaus, G 466, H 420, HR 105, BA .250, BPO .878

National League top 20 batters (2001-2005)

  • 1. Barry Bonds, G 587, H 585, HR 214, BA .347, BPO 1.938

  • 2. Albert Pujols, G 790, H 982, HR 201, BA .332, BPO 1.108

  • 3. Todd Helton, G 773, H 941, HR 164, BA .339, BPO 1.187

  • 4. Larry Walker, G 603, H 632, HR 112, BA .316, BPO 1.093

  • 5. Gary Sheffield, G 433, H 501, HR 100, BA .316, BPO 1.069

  • 6. Sammy Sosa, G 573, H 614, HR 188, BA .289, BPO 1.052

  • 7. Jim Edmonds, G 726, H 696, HR 168, BA .291, BPO 1.079

  • 8. Vladimir Guerrero, G 432, H 520, HR 98, BA .324, BPO 1.048

  • 9. Lance Berkman, G 759, H 824, HR 155, BA .305, BPO 1.080

  • 10. J.D. Drew, G 561, H 541, HR 106, BA .291, BPO 1.009

  • 11. Chipper Jones, G 716, H 760, HR 142, BA .303, BPO 1.011

  • 12. Scott Rolen, G 658, H 677, HR 123, BA .283, BPO .926

  • 13. Bobby Abreu, G 798, H 860, HR 125, BA .297, BPO 1.037

  • 14. Brian Giles, G 764, H 810, HR 133, BA .298, BPO 1.041

  • 15. Jeff Kent, G 735, H 842, HR 137, BA .298, BPO .879

  • 16. Luis Gonzalez, G 726, H 780, HR 152, BA .292, BPO .983

  • 17. Miguel Cabrera, G 405, H 459, HR 78, BA .300, BPO .866

  • 18. Cliff Floyd, G 619, H 631, HR 122, BA .285, BPO .940

  • 19. Jeff Bagwell, G 674, H 684, HR 139, BA .279, BPO .936

  • 20. Derrek Lee, G 794, H 828, HR 157, BA .288, BPO .943

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