In a few weeks, Derek Jeter will complete his Hall of Fame-worthy career. His stat line in this, his age-40 season, is rather un-Jeterlike. Through Monday night, he has a 79 OPS+ with a slash line of .264/.313/.316. Its entirely possible he’ll end the season with an on-base percentage higher than his slugging percentage.
So, how many Hall of Famers have ever had such a season (with enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title)? Here’s the list, courtesy of Baseball Reference’s Play Index. Yes, Ray Schalk had ten of them in a 12 year span. In addition to more recent inductees like Ozzie Smith and Rickey Henderson, a few expansion era guys snagged a season like this . . . Boggs, Morgan, Carew.
| Rk | Name | Yrs | From | To | Age | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ray Schalk | 10 | 1914 | 1925 | 21-32 | Ind. Seasons |
| 2 | Ozzie Smith | 9 | 1980 | 1992 | 25-37 | Ind. Seasons |
| 3 | Rickey Henderson | 8 | 1980 | 2000 | 21-41 | Ind. Seasons |
| 4 | Luke Appling | 8 | 1935 | 1949 | 28-42 | Ind. Seasons |
| 5 | Richie Ashburn | 7 | 1948 | 1960 | 21-33 | Ind. Seasons |
| 6 | Eddie Collins | 7 | 1912 | 1925 | 25-38 | Ind. Seasons |
| 7 | Dave Bancroft | 6 | 1915 | 1928 | 24-37 | Ind. Seasons |
| 8 | Harry Hooper | 6 | 1910 | 1919 | 22-31 | Ind. Seasons |
| 9 | Bobby Wallace | 6 | 1907 | 1912 | 33-38 | Ind. Seasons |
| 10 | Rick Ferrell | 5 | 1930 | 1938 | 24-32 | Ind. Seasons |
| 11 | Johnny Evers | 5 | 1905 | 1914 | 23-32 | Ind. Seasons |
| 12 | Roger Bresnahan | 5 | 1905 | 1914 | 26-35 | Ind. Seasons |
| 13 | Phil Rizzuto | 4 | 1946 | 1953 | 28-35 | Ind. Seasons |
| 14 | Pee Wee Reese | 4 | 1941 | 1952 | 22-33 | Ind. Seasons |
| 15 | Joe Sewell | 4 | 1922 | 1933 | 23-34 | Ind. Seasons |
| 16 | Rabbit Maranville | 4 | 1913 | 1933 | 21-41 | Ind. Seasons |
| 17 | Willie Keeler | 4 | 1903 | 1909 | 31-37 | Ind. Seasons |
| 18 | Nellie Fox | 3 | 1958 | 1964 | 30-36 | Ind. Seasons |
| 19 | Max Carey | 3 | 1918 | 1928 | 28-38 | Ind. Seasons |
| 20 | George Davis | 3 | 1905 | 1908 | 34-37 | Ind. Seasons |
| 21 | Rod Carew | 2 | 1981 | 1985 | 35-39 | Ind. Seasons |
| 22 | Joe Morgan | 2 | 1966 | 1979 | 22-35 | Ind. Seasons |
| 23 | Lou Boudreau | 2 | 1942 | 1949 | 24-31 | Ind. Seasons |
| 24 | Paul Waner | 2 | 1941 | 1942 | 38-39 | Ind. Seasons |
| 25 | Mickey Cochrane | 2 | 1934 | 1935 | 31-32 | Ind. Seasons |
| Rk | Name | Yrs | From | To | Age | |
| 26 | Frank Chance | 2 | 1905 | 1907 | 28-30 | Ind. Seasons |
| 27 | Wade Boggs | 1 | 1993 | 1993 | 35-35 | Ind. Seasons |
| 28 | Luis Aparicio | 1 | 1973 | 1973 | 39-39 | Ind. Seasons |
| 29 | Arky Vaughan | 1 | 1942 | 1942 | 30-30 | Ind. Seasons |
| 30 | Billy Herman | 1 | 1942 | 1942 | 32-32 | Ind. Seasons |
| 31 | Charlie Gehringer | 1 | 1941 | 1941 | 38-38 | Ind. Seasons |
| 32 | Kiki Cuyler | 1 | 1937 | 1937 | 38-38 | Ind. Seasons |
| 33 | Tris Speaker | 1 | 1915 | 1915 | 27-27 | Ind. Seasons |
| 34 | Nap Lajoie | 1 | 1914 | 1914 | 39-39 | Ind. Seasons |
| 35 | Fred Clarke | 1 | 1909 | 1909 | 36-36 | Ind. Seasons |
| 36 | Joe Tinker | 1 | 1906 | 1906 | 25-25 | Ind. Seasons |
| 37 | Jesse Burkett | 1 | 1904 | 1904 | 35-35 | Ind. Seasons |
| 38 | Billy Hamilton | 1 | 1901 | 1901 | 35-35 | Ind. Seasons |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 8/26/2014.
Generated 8/26/2014.
Something’s wrong here…I show Billy Hamilton having way more than one such season. In fact, his *career* OBP (.455) is higher than his career SLG (.432) according to Baseball-Reference.com.