31
2013
The Most Balanced Offensive Seasons in History
An article by 
Which players had the most balanced offensive seasons in baseball?
Lets consider for a moment a not so arbitrary selection of statistics and some specific and exemplary thresholds for them. We can avoid a random “pick and choose” group by simply going with all of them — the seven major offensive categories: Home Runs, Runs Scored, RBI, SB, AVG, OBP and SLG.
Now lets set up our “Top 10 in the League” performance thresholds. By this I mean when you look at league leaders these numbers should place in the top 10 — with a batting title contender’s average thrown in for good measure.
Basically we’re looking for players who blanketed all the major offensive categories with a top 3% in league performance, while potentially competing for a batting title at .320 or better. Additionally, lets round slightly up (or down) to 100 Runs, 100 RBI, 30 HR and 30 SB, for the sake of simplicity. I was tempted to add 900+ OPS or 8+ WAR, but figured we’d just as well stick with the seven traditional categories. These would be MVP type numbers in any era.
30+ Home Runs
100+ Runs Scored
100+ Runs Batted In
30+ Stolen Bases
.320+ Batting Average
.400+ On-Base Percentage
.500+ Slugging Percentage
Pretty darned good season right?
Couple of observations before we look at the list, there is a preponderance of very big seasons concentrated in the steroid era, but, interestingly enough, the pattern seems to be an early peak in speed and then a significant drop off in steals with a huge upswing in power numbers.
You can almost pinpoint where Bonds, A-rod, Canseco, and others got too big to run, whereas in earlier eras the early “speed stage” (Willie Mays, Lou Brock, Joe Morgan, Roberto Clemente, Rod Carew) lasted a lot longer.
Personally, I wonder whether players like Bonds in particular would have actually been better overall if they hadn’t put on all that weight. Yes they would have hit fewer home runs, but Bonds had some amazing seasons before he got huge. Another observation was that in general, the speed/power combination was relatively rare in the early part of the century. It seemed like players were more specialized. You were either a table setter or a power hitter but almost never both. I’m not sure if bigger, faster and stronger athletes in modern times have necessarily given rise to players who can do both (there were a few notable exceptions – Lou Gehrig, Nap Lajoie, Rogers Hornsby), but it was really Willie Mays who introduced the offensive “do it all” player.
None of these individual category achievements are eye popping in and of themselves, but covering all of them in the same season is surprisingly rare.* Actually it’s more than surprising, it’s astonishing because as far as I can tell it’s only been done two (or was it three?) times.
*Note: it’s a tall order combing through every MVP caliber season over the past 120 years without the use of fancy software. I looked at a bunch of “greatest seasons” and “greatest player” lists and targeted power/speed combinations. I may have missed some — particularly in the early part of the century — but I welcome corrections and additions.
I give you two remarkable seasons…
2002 Vladimir Guerrero, Expos – 39 HR, 106 RS, 111 RBI, 40 SB, .336 AVG, .417 OBP, .593 SLG.
1997 Larry Walker, Rockies – 49 HR, 143 RS, 130 RBI, 33 SB, .366 AVG, .452 OBP, .720 SLG.
Now, a list of players in descending order of those who came close:
Willie Mays — Had an amazing run of 5 years where he was very close (1955 – 1960). He was 3 RBI short of doing it in 1957 (amazing year) … greatest all around ball player ever? There’s an argument here.
Matt Kemp — in 2011 he had 39 HR, 115 RS, 126 RBI, 40/51 SB, .324 AVG, .399 OBP, .586 SLG … missed it by 1 OBP point!
Rickey Henderson – Missed it by 2 home runs in 1990.
Joe Morgan — Just 3 home runs short in 1976.
Barry Bonds — Extremely close in 1990 and again in 1992, but did not have the AVG.
Ryan Braun — Very close in 2011 and 2012 but did not have the OBP.
Ken Caminiti – Not enough steals in 1996.
Jacoby Ellsbury — missed it by OBP in 2011, and not by much.
Jeff Bagwell — close in 1999, didn’t quite have the AVG.
Hanley Ramirez — in 2008 missed it by 33 RBI.
Nap Lajoie – real close in 1904, missed it by 6 RBI and 4 steals.
Alex Rodriguez – Just missed it with AVG and OBP in 1998.
Eric Davis — didn’t have the AVG or OBP in 1987.
Roberto Alomar – Was 6 home runs short in 1999.
Rogers Hornsby — Missed it by 13 steals in 1922.
Lou Gehrig – Also missed it by 13 steals in 1931.
Mike Trout — Missed it in 2012 by 17 RBI and 1 OBP point.
Jose Canseco – Did not have the AVG in 1988.
Ken Griffey, Jr – Close but missed it in SB, AVG, OBP in 1998.
Carlos Beltran — Closest year was 2004 but didn’t have the AVG or OBP.
Sammy Sosa — Close in 1995 but didn’t have the AVG or OBP — in 2001 he had both AVG and OBP but not the steals.
Mike Schmidt – Had 29 steals in 1975, did not have the AVG or OBP.
Ted Williams — Never had the stolen bases, but otherwise clearly the greatest pure hitter of all time.
Darryl Strawberry — Didn’t have the AVG (.284) or OBP (.398) in 1987.
Kirby Puckett — Didn’t have the steals (20) or OBP (.366) in 1986.
Tris Speaker — Would have had it in 1912 but only had 10 home runs.
Mel Ott — Would have had it in 1935 but had only 7 steals.
Hank Aaron — Had the steals in 1963 but didn’t have the AVG or OBP.
Barry Larkin — Didn’t have the AVG (.298) or the RBI (89) in 1996.
Rod Carew — Had a stretch of years from 1973 – 1980 where he was close but never hit more than 14 home runs.
Chipper Jones — Not enough steals and didn’t have the AVG in 1999.
Honus Wagner — Would have had it a whole bunch of years but never hit more than 10 home runs.
Joe DiMaggio — Would have had it on several occasions but never had more than 6 steals.
Jackie Robinson — Would have had it in 1949 but he had only 16 home runs.
Eddie Collins — Would have had it a whole bunch of years between 1909 and 1919 but never had more than 6 home runs.
And there you have it….
Oh wait …
Yep, there was one other guy who did it….
I think it was in 2007…
30 HR, 113 RS, 107 RBI, 34 SB, .325 AVG, .416 OBP, .546 SLG,
About the Author: Matthew Balasis
I’ve been a Met fan since August 1969 when a fire resulted in the Red Cross placing my family on the 6th floor of a building in Willets Point. I could see Shea from our balcony and I knew something big was going on. I followed them through the dark years and the resurgence of the 80’s only (sadly) to miss the fall of 86 because I was in Boot Camp. I've been serving penance ever since in Minnesota where I'm an SLP. I've written a lot about the Mets in an effort to share with my kids (and anyone else who might listen), a sporting tradition that made much of my childhood worthwhile. Follow me on twitter: https://twitter.com/MatthewBalasis
27 Comments + Add Comment
NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 42 | 30 | .583 | - |
| Phillies | 35 | 37 | .486 | 7.0 |
| Nationals | 34 | 36 | .486 | 7.0 |
| Mets | 27 | 40 | .403 | 12.5 |
| Marlins | 22 | 48 | .314 | 19.0 |
Last updated: 06/19/2013
Recent Comments
- SaltyGary: on Wheeler Deals, Mets Sweep Braves In Nightcap, 6-1: Got no problem with that.
- Alex68: on Mets Acquire Eric Young Jr. For Collin McHugh, DFA Cowgill and Promote Brown: K maxx... Hairston for one year... Capuano...
- jeff: on First Rounder Dominic Smith Agrees To Deal With Mets: you guys are never happy I'm not...
- El Sid: on Where Does Wheeler Rank Among Best Mets Pitching Debuts?: 6 shutout innings against the #6 offense...
- Metstheory22: on A Deeper Look At Zack Wheeler’s Debut: Good game Wheeler. Finally, WELCOME to Mets.
Latest From Mets Minors
Check Out These Great MLB Links!
Photographs From Gordon Donovan
Fans Follow Us On Twitter!
1333 Fans Like Us On Facebook!
2341 Fans Read Our Feed!
1702 Fans Subscribe via Daily Email!
Good work on this, Matt
Ah… the good ole days.
Very nice.
I thought those older players such as Honus Wagner and Eddie Collins played during an era where HRs were just not anywhere near in abundance until Babe Ruth came along. I remember reading some lead the league in certain years with a whopping total of 12 HRs.
I always love this story:
http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/24437/the-day-ty-cobb-hit-three-home-runs
David would have won the MVP were it not for the collapse. Vlad also didn’t win it in 2002.
Awesome article…
David was in some elite company…
Hope we get that guy back the next few years.
probably never going to see that kind of season again, but even about 75% of those numbers is an above average 3B still.
It would also help if he had the same lineup around him he did in 2007. What he did last year with few place setters and little protection was pretty damn impressive.
takes something special to do it even once, 06 wasn’t too shabby either.
Can you imagine if the Mets actually signed Vlad? I was annoyed they didn’t take the risk on him. Hindsight and Mad Dog 20/20…
Sadly, Wright is not the same player he was then. Today he is a solid .300/20/90-100 guy. These are numbers any team would take from their 3B especially if he continues to play GG caliber defense.
We’re 2 seasons removed from a 6 year stretch (minus 2009) where he was remarkably consistent … and 2012 wasn’t bad either. People forget he had a pretty decent season in 2010. I don’t see it really, he’s only 30, power peaks for players in their early 30′s. If he were in a better lineup I wouldn’t put another MVP season or two out of the range of possibility, especially if they can ever find a legitimate table setter to hit in front of him (I’m sure David misses Reyes more than just about anyone). Maybe not the steals, but he was on fire the first half of last year … The beaning and Citi’s original insane David hating configuration threw him for a loop but he’s clearly past that … m.b.
Interesting to note, Vladdy was 40/60 in SB attempts in 2002… Walker in ’97 was 33/41.
Oh, Matt…here are a few more guys who deserve some credit.
Ellsbury ’11: 32 HR, 119 RS, 105 RBI, 39/54 SB, .321 AVG, .376 OBP, .552 SLG…
Kemp ’11: 39 HR, 115 RS, 126 RBI, 40/51 SB, .324 AVG, .399 OBP, .586 SLG.
Hanley ’08: 33 HR, 125 RS, 67 RBI, 35/47 SB, .301 AVG, .400 OBP, .540 SLG
and… I think this one fulfills all your requirements.
Bagwell ’99: 42 HRs, 143 RS, 126 RBI, 30/41 SB, .304 AVG, .454 OBP, .591 SLG.
Oh damn. .320 average, not .300… welp. Still relevant to conversation.
Jeez, missed those (there were so many), & those were all pretty close. I’ll try and add them. Thanks Perseus.
Made one edit for you, Matt.
Shawn Kemp played basketball…although nice to see we’ve got another basketball fan in here, too lol
I will take a good dose of Eric Davis as well.
1997 .293 .399 .593 .991 with 37 HR and 50 SB!!!
the year before he was 3 HR away from being a 30/80 guy.
TRS,
You mean 1987 on E. Davis right? Thanks guys, I added them.
Yeah, sorry.
n.p. thanks for the additions.
We can thank Mike Hampton.
Now if we can just get a Beltran and Degado type (Maybe Ike can be the Delgado) Wright could do that again….
We look at Wrights numbers but when looking at the lineup he played in you can see many reasons why he hasn’t been that good…
Question is if he got the help can he be that good again which is where I think the major contention with his signing may lay…
Anyone else think Trout will rack up a few seasons like this when all is said and done? He came pretty close in his rookie year.
Excellent article, Matt. I would never have thought Wright was among the very few who have achieved that. It’s all the more remarkable because, unlike Guerrero and Walker, Wright did it in a pitchers park and AFTER steroids testing was implemented. Impressive!
Great job Matt!
Loved the twist at the end.
Wrights 07 season was a HOF season. Though he needs like 5 more…
To not even mention Mickey Mantle at all through out this whole article is just awful. I know he didn’t have the steals needed to make the top list but he wasn’t even mentioned in the list below showing ones that came close. His stats over all were awesome, except for steals for many different years. Need to get on the ball here!!!!!