.300 Hitters Who Didn't Stick

One of baseball's "big" numbers is .300. If you hit .300 or better, you're a good hitter. As the following players can attest, however, hitting .300 isn't always enough to stick in the major leagues.

Since 1954, thirteen players have hit .300 in more than 50 but fewer than 500 career plate appearances. Players who appeared in the majors during 2009 were not included. I chose fifty PA as the minimum because it takes at least ten starts to rack up that many times at the plate. Impressive as John Paciorek's career was, it doesn't fit the spirit of this post. By the end of this post, you'll see why I used 500 as the maximum.

Name	Year(s)	Age	Team(s)	Pos	PA	AB	AVG/OBP/SLG
Kevin Rhomberg	1982-1984	26-28	CLE	LF	52	47	.383/.423/.447
Randy Asadoor	1986	23	SDP	3B	60	55	.364/.397/.455
Rudy Pemberton	1995-1997	25-27	DET BOS	RF	147	134	.336/.395/.515
Joe Hall	1994-1995 1997	28-31	CHW DET	LF	52	47	.319/.385/.468
Norris Hopper	2006-2008	27-29	CIN	CF	440	396	.316/.367/.371
Victor Mata	1984-1985	23-24	NYY	CF	83	77	.312/.316/.416
Bob Hazle	1955 1957-1958	24-27	CIN MLN DET	RF	297	261	.310/.390/.467
D.T. Cromer	2000-2001	29-30	CIN	1B	114	104	.308/.327/.577
Eddy Garabito	2005	28	COL	2B	102	88	.307/.384/.398
Bob Henley	1998	25	MON	C	132	115	.304/.377/.470
Andy Barkett	2001	26	PIT	LF	51	46	.304/.373/.413
Jose Ortiz	1969-1971	22-24	CHW CHC	CF	136	123	.301/.358/.390
Gerry Davis	1983 1985	24-26	SDP	RF	82	73	.301/.370/.397

The position listed is where the player spent the most time. Almost every player on the list played two or more positions.

Bob Hazle is probably the most famous name on this list. He hit .403 down the stretch in 1957 to help the Braves win the NL pennant. A slow start in 1958 doomed his career. Norris Hooper may still appear again in the majors. He played in AAA for the Reds, White Sox, and Nationals in 2009.

It's worth noting that two pitchers also qualified under the 50-500 PA criteria. Terry Forster, who pitched for five teams from 1971 to 1984, hit .397/.413/.474 over 86 plate appearances during his career. He was one for four as a pinch hitter. Renie Martin, who pitched for three teams from 1979 to 1984, hit .301 over 90 plate appearances. He was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.

Obviously, small sample size applies to all of these players. Who knows if they would have been able to hit .300 over a longer career. The fact remains, however, that they hit well in the few opportunities they were given.

I thought it would be interesting to post the following list as well. If you take out active players, here are the .300 hitters who debuted in 1954 or later with the fewest career plate appearances (min. 400):

1. Norris Hopper, 440 (.316)
   
2. Lyman Bostock, 2214 (.311)
   
3. Reggie Jefferson, 2300 (.300)
   
4. Manny Mota, 4227 (.304)
   
5. Rusty Greer, 4420 (.305)
   
6. Hal Morris, 4443 (.304)
   
7. John Kruk, 4603 (.300)
   
8. Mike Greenwell, 5166 (.303)
   
9. Ralph Garr, 5456 (.306)
   
10. Pedro Guerrero, 6115 (.300)

It looks like Norris Hopper has found a uncomfortable niche between flash in the pan and solid regular.

Most Career PA, Zero Triples

Admittedly I don't watch him all that often, but Ryan Howard doesn't seem like a very fast ballplayer to me. Call it an assumption about large first basemen. Howard hit a triple in tonight's NLCS game and I figured it had to be one of only a few in his career. It turns out it was his first in postseason play, but twelfth overall in his major league career. Not only that, but he stole eight bases this year. You learn something new every day, I suppose.

It seems as though if a player plays long enough, he'll wind up hitting a triple. Cecil Fielder had six triples by the time he swiped his first base, over 1000 games into his career. Javier Valentin may never have attempted to steal a base but he legged out five triples in his career. Bill Schroeder, a run-of-the-mill 1980s catcher, brags about how his only career triple, also his first major league hit, must have screwed up scouting reports on him for a while.

But not every player is lucky enough to accomplish the career cycle. The following players just couldn't hit it far enough away from the defense to run 270 feet.

Most Career PA, Zero Triples
(position players)

1. Johnny Estrada, 2244
   
2. Jason Phillips, 1537
3. Mark Parent, 1428
4. Craig Worthington, 1423
5. Ramon Castro, 1400*
6. Sal Fasano, 1245*
7. Earl Averill, 1217
8. Aaron Guiel, 1099
9. Kelly Shoppach, 1043*
10. Doc Edwards, 973
11. Jim Traber, 897
12. Geronimo Gil, 887
13. Chris Coste, 885*
14. Jeff Mathis, 861*
15. Troy Neel, 861
16. Bob Uecker, 843
17. Brian Giles, 791
18. Hawk Taylor, 766
19. Bob Burda, 723
20. Scott Hemond, 687

* - active player (majors or minors in 2009)

Worthington (3B), Guiel (RF), Traber (1B), Neel (1B), Giles (2B), and Burda (1B) are the non-catchers on the above list. Giles, not related to the current Padre, actually stole seventeen bases one season. Of course, he was caught ten times that year. The active non-catcher leader is Scott Thorman, with 440. Thorman spent 2009 in AAA with Kansas City and Texas. Among players who appeared in the majors in 2009, Paul Janish is the active leader with 381. Robert Andino is seven behind Janish.

Most Career PA, Zero Triples
(pitchers)

1. Gaylord Perry, 1220
2. Whitey Ford, 1208
3. Tommy John, 1030
4. Lefty Gomez, 1024
5. Bob Buhl, 952
6. Burt Hooten, 913
7. Curt Davis, 904
8. Andy Benes, 880
9. Larry Dierker, 876
10. Sandy Koufax, 858
11. Dave McNally, 848
12. Rick Rhoden, 830
13. Andy Messersmith, 826
14. Mike Krukow, 819
15. Dick Donovan, 801
16. Darryl Kile, 786
17. Ken Raffensberger, 779
18. Dean Chance, 759
19. Pat Malone, 752
20. Mike Scott, 743

No active players are in the top twenty. The active leader is Jason Schmidt with 712. Randy Johnson is at 691 and Roy Oswalt is third with 670. One notable in the above list: Bob Buhl's 0 for 70 in 1962 is a record for hitting futility.

Most Plate Appearances, No Singles

Brad Nelson, 0 for 21 this year, was outrighted (booted off the 40-man roster but not released) to the minors by Milwaukee earlier this week. Since he was outrighted once before, he had the option to choose free agency rather than report to AAA. He did and has had contact from several teams. Until he signs, however, his brief major league career qualifies him for the following list:

Most Career Plate Apperances, No Singles

Name	Years	PA	H	2B	3B	HR
Bobby Tiefenauer	1952-1968	48	1	1	0	0
Randy Tate	1975	47	0	0	0	0
Bo McLaughlin	1976-1982	45	0	0	0	0
Tony McKnight	2000-2001	44	0	0	0	0
Daryl Patterson	1968-1974	37	0	0	0	0
Charlie Cady	1883-1884	36	2	1	1	0
George Borchers	1888-1895	34	2	2	0	0
Ted Davidson	1965-1968	34	0	0	0	0
Charley Stanceu	1941-1946	34	0	0	0	0
Hank Biasatti	1949	33	2	2	0	0
Andy Hassler	1971-1985	31	0	0	0	0
Brad Nelson	2008-2009	31	2	2	0	0
Sean Burnett	2004-2008	30	1	1	0	0
Skip Pitlock	1970-1975	30	2	1	0	1

As you can tell by the years each played, most of those players were pitches. Only Hank Biasatti, a first baseman for the Athletics, and Nelson were not pitchers for a significant portion of their careers. Charlie Cody started five games as a pitcher and also appeared in the outfield, second base, and catcher.

Another active position player who has struggled to single is Matthew Brown, a third baseman for the Angels. He batted 27 times in 2007 and 2008, hitting only a double. Brown is currently playing for the AAA Salt Lake Bees. Both Nelson and Brown will likely get more chances to single in the majors, so hopefully their time around this list is short.

Update: Most Games Pitched With Zero Plate Appearances

Back in the day I looked at pitchers who have made the most appearances without ever batting. With guys like Brian Shouse and Jamie Walker still LOOGY'ing it up in the AL East, I thought it'd be interesting to take another look at the leaderboard.

Most Career Games Pitched, Zero Career Plate Appearances

1. Buddy Groom, 786
2. Bob Stanley, 637
3. Mike Fetters, 620
4. Tippy Martinez, 548
5. Chad Bradford, 541*
6. Mike Flanagan, 529
7. Jamie Walker, 523*
8. Steve Farr, 509
9. Mark Clear, 481
   
10. Edwin Nunez, 427
11. Brian Shouse, 422*
12. Francisco Rodriguez, 418*
13. Mark Gubicza, 384
14. Kirk McCaskill, 381
15. Ron Guidry, 380
16. Mark Williamson, 365
17. Sammy Stewart, 359
18. Scott McGregor, 357
19. Mike Boddicker, 347
20. Scott Bailes, 343
21. Mike Witt, 341
22. Bryan Harvey, 322
23. J.J. Putz, 321*
    
24. Billy Taylor, 317
25. Doug Corbett, 313
26. Dennis Leonard, 313
27. Richard Dotson, 312
28. Chris Bosio, 310
29. Bill Simas, 308
30. Mike Venafro, 307
31. Bill Castro, 303

*active player - stats through 5/3/2009

Obviously the guys that were on the list last time have climbed further up the ladder. Walker became only the eighth pitcher to appear in 500 games without batting last June and since Bradford is currently on the disabled list, he should take over as the active leader pretty soon. Speaking of the submariner, he's only 96 appearances away from setting the record for a righthander, but Francisco Rodriguez might end up seizing the top spot shortly after Bradford gets there.

J.J. Putz is the only new addition to the list. As I mentioned last time, Jason Frasor is getting near to 300 games without batting. He currently sits at 291 and, apropos of nothing, is 4-0 in ten appearances this year. Orioles closer George Sherrill has now appeared in 263 games without batting. The other active players above 200 games:

• Mike MacDougal (262)
• Huston Street (259)
  
• Jesse Crain (256)
• Bobby Jenks (231)
• Jonathan Papelbon (212)
  

Most Games Started, Zero Plate Appearances

With interleague play firmly a part of the MLB schedule, it's nearly impossible for a starting pitcher to go more than a season or two without batting at least once. For the first twenty-five years after the DH rule was introduced, however, it was entirely possible for a starter to spend his entire career in the American League and never bat. Let's look at the pitchers who started the most games without ever stepping to the plate.

Most Career Games Started, Zero Plate Appearances

1. Mike Flanagan, 401
2. Mark Gubicza, 329
3. Ron Guidry, 323*
4. Scott McGregor, 309
5. Mike Boddicker, 309*
6. Dennis Leonard, 302
7. Mike Witt, 299
8. Richard Dotson, 295*
9. Jack McDowell, 275
10. Moose Haas, 252
11. Chris Bosio, 246
12. Kirk McCaskill, 242
13. Bill Wegman, 216*
14. Glenn Abbott, 206
15. Teddy Higuera, 205
16. Mike Smithson, 204
17. Melido Perez, 201
18. Jim Beattie, 182
19. Ed Figueroa, 179
20. Steve McCatty, 161
    
21. Britt Burns, 161
    
22. Luis Leal, 151
    
23. Ken Schrom, 137
24. Dave Rozema, 132
25. Bob Milacki, 125
26. Roger Pavlik, 125
    

* - appeared as pinch runner

A footnote: Teddy Higuera batted once in the 1986 All-Star Game, striking out.

Update: Commenter NaOH notes that Flanagan, Guidry, McGregor, and Boddicker batted during the playoffs, so they didn't really go their entire career without batting.