Last Tuesday’s rundown of pitching leaders was well-received, so you know what’s coming today.
It’s time to look at the Modern Era’s top 10 batters in several key categories.
I explained last week that I’ve collected a wide range of statistics for the seasons from 1961 to the present — byproducts of my research for the stories I write every Tuesday and Friday. I relied on this trove as I pulled together a series of top-10 lists for pitchers a week ago, and now I’ve done the same for hitters.
The first eight lists show the best career performances for runs, hits, doubles, triples, home runs, runs batted in, batting average, and bases per outs. The final two lists show the leaders in a pair of negative categories: strikeouts and groundouts into double plays.
Each batter’s name is followed by his big-league span in parentheses. All of these rankings are confined to the Modern Era. If a player was active in 1960 or prior to that — such as Willie Davis or Roberto Clemente — only his stats from 1961 to the present are shown here.
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Runs
1. Rickey Henderson (1979-2003), 2,295
2. Barry Bonds (1986-2007), 2,227
3. Pete Rose (1963-1986), 2,165
4. Alex Rodriguez (1994-2016), 2,021
5. Derek Jeter (1995-2014), 1,923
6. Albert Pujols (2001-2021), 1,872
7. Craig Biggio (1988-2007), 1,844
8. Carl Yastrzemski (1961-1983), 1,816
9. Paul Molitor (1978-1998), 1,782
10. Dave Winfield (1973-1995), 1,669
Hits
1. Pete Rose (1963-1986), 4,256
2. Derek Jeter (1995-2014), 3,465
3. Carl Yastrzemski (1961-1983), 3,419
4. Paul Molitor (1978-1998), 3,319
5. Albert Pujols (2001-2021), 3,301
6. Eddie Murray (1977-1997), 3,255
7. Cal Ripken Jr. (1981-2001), 3,184
8. Adrian Beltre (1998-2018), 3,166
9. George Brett (1973-1993), 3,154
10. Robin Yount (1974-1993), 3,142
Doubles
1. Pete Rose (1963-1986), 746
2. Albert Pujols (2001-2021), 672
3. Craig Biggio (1988-2007), 668
4. George Brett (1973-1993), 665
5. Carl Yastrzemski (1961-1983), 646
6. Adrian Beltre (1998-2018), 636
7. David Ortiz (1997-2016), 632
8. Paul Molitor (1978-1998), 605
9. Cal Ripken Jr. (1981-2001), 603
10. Barry Bonds (1986-2007), 601
Triples
1. Willie Wilson (1976-1994), 147
2. Lou Brock (1961-1979), 141
3. George Brett (1973-1993), 137
3. Willie Davis (1961-1979), 137
5. Pete Rose (1963-1986), 135
6. Jose Reyes (2003-2018), 131
6. Brett Butler (1981-1997), 131
8. Robin Yount (1974-1993), 126
9. Steve Finley (1989-2007), 124
10. Carl Crawford (2002-2016), 123
Home runs
1. Barry Bonds (1986-2007), 762
2. Alex Rodriguez (1994-2016), 696
3. Albert Pujols (2001-2021), 679
4. Ken Griffey Jr. (1989-2010), 630
5. Jim Thome (1991-2012), 612
6. Sammy Sosa (1989-2007), 609
7. Mark McGwire (1986-2001), 583
8. Rafael Palmeiro (1986-2005), 569
9. Reggie Jackson (1967-1987), 563
10. Manny Ramirez (1993-2011), 555
Runs batted in
1. Albert Pujols (2001-2021), 2,150
2. Alex Rodriguez (1994-2016), 2,086
3. Barry Bonds (1986-2007), 1,996
4. Eddie Murray (1977-1997), 1,917
5. Carl Yastrzemski (1961-1983), 1,844
6. Ken Griffey Jr. (1989-2010), 1,836
7. Rafael Palmeiro (1986-2005), 1,835
8. Dave Winfield (1973-1995), 1,833
9. Manny Ramirez (1993-2011), 1,831
10. Miguel Cabrera (2003-2021), 1,804
Batting average (5,000+ appearances)
1. Tony Gwynn (1982-2001), .338
2. Roberto Clemente (1961-1972), .331
3. Rod Carew (1967-1985), .328
3. Wade Boggs (1982-1999), .328
5. Vladimir Guerrero (1996-2011), .318
5. Kirby Puckett (1984-1995), .318
7. Todd Helton (1997-2013), .316
8. Larry Walker (1989-2005), .313
8. Nomar Garciaparra (1996-2009), .313
10. Manny Ramirez (1993-2011), .312
10. Edgar Martinez (1987-2004), .312
Bases per outs (5,000+ appearances
1. Barry Bonds (1986-2007), 1.265
2. Mike Trout (2011-2021), 1.159
3. Mark McGwire (1986-2001), 1.068
4. Manny Ramirez (1993-2011), 1.059
5. Frank Thomas (1990-2008), 1.058
6. Larry Walker (1989-2005), 1.041
7. Jim Thome (1991-2012), 1.035
8. Jeff Bagwell (1991-2005), 1.028
9. Lance Berkman (1999-2013), 1.012
10. Todd Helton (1997-2013), 1.011
10. Joey Votto (2007-2021), 1.011
Strikeouts
1. Reggie Jackson (1967-1987), 2,597
2. Jim Thome (1991-2012), 2,548
3. Adam Dunn (2001-2014), 2,379
4. Sammy Sosa (1989-2007), 2,306
5. Alex Rodriguez (1994-2016), 2,287
6. Andres Galarraga (1985-2004), 2,003
7. Justin Upton (2007-2021), 1,948
8. Jose Canseco (1985-2001), 1,942
9. Willie Stargell (1962-1982), 1,936
10. Miguel Cabrera (2003-2021), 1,930
Grounded into double plays
1. Albert Pujols (2001-2021), 413
2. Cal Ripken Jr. (1981-2001), 350
3. Miguel Cabrera (2003-2021), 342
4. Ivan Rodriguez (1991-2011), 337
5. Carl Yastrzemski (1961-1983), 323
6. Dave Winfield (1973-1995), 319
7. Eddie Murray (1977-1997), 315
7. Jim Rice (1974-1989), 315
9. Julio Franco (1982-2007), 312
10. Harold Baines (1980-2001), 298