List of major League Baseball players with a. 400 batting average in a season - wikipedia List of major League Baseball players with a. 400 batting average in a season Ed Delahanty, Ty Cobb, and Rogers Hornsby ( left to right ) are the only players to record a. 400 batting average in three different seasons. In baseball, batting average ( AVG ) is a measure of a batter 's success rate in achieving a hit during an at bat, and is calculated by dividing a player 's hits by his at bats. The achievement of a. 400 batting average in a season is recognized as `` the standard of hitting excellence '', in light of how batting. 300 in a season is already regarded as solid. Twenty players have recorded a batting average of at least. 400 in a single Major League Baseball ( MLB ) season as of 2017, the last being Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox in 1941. Three players -- Ed Delahanty, Ty Cobb and Rogers Hornsby -- have accomplished the feat in three different seasons, and no player has ever hit over. 440, a single - season record established by Hugh Duffy in 1894. Ross Barnes was the first player to bat. 400 in a season, posting a. 429 batting average in the National League 's inaugural 1876 season. In total, 20 players have reached the. 400 mark in MLB history and five have done so more than once. Of these, ten were right - handed batters, nine were left - handed, and one was a switch hitter, meaning he could bat from either side of the plate. Two of these players ( Terry and Williams ) played for only one major league team. The Philadelphia Phillies are the only franchise to have four players reach the milestone while on their roster : Delahanty, Billy Hamilton, Sam Thompson, and Tuck Turner, all of whom attained a batting average over. 400 during the 1894 season. Three players won the Most Valuable Player ( MVP ) Award in the same year as their. 400 season. Tip O'Neill, Nap Lajoie, and Hornsby are the only players to have earned the Triple Crown alongside achieving a. 400 batting average, leading their respective leagues in batting average, home runs and runs batted in ( RBI ). Although Shoeless Joe Jackson 's. 408 batting average in 1911 did not earn him the American League 's batting title, it established a major league record for a rookie that stands to this day. Fred Dunlap has the lowest career batting average among players who have batted. 400 in a season with. 292, while Cobb -- with. 366 -- recorded the highest career average in major league history. Due to the 75 years that have elapsed since Williams became the last player to achieve the feat and the integral changes to the way the game of baseball is played since then -- such as the increased utilization of specialized relief pitchers -- a writer for The Washington Post called the mark `` both mystical and unattainable ''. Consequently, modern day attempts to reach the hallowed mark by Rod Carew (. 388 in 1977 ), George Brett (. 390 in 1980 ) and Tony Gwynn (. 394 in the strike - shortened 1994 season ) have generated considerable hype among fans and in the media. Of the seventeen players eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame who have batted. 400 in a season, fourteen have been elected and two were elected on the first ballot. Players are eligible for the Hall of Fame if they have played in at least 10 MLB seasons, and have either been retired for five seasons or deceased for at least six months. These requirements leave two players ineligible -- Barnes and Turner -- who did not play in at least 10 seasons. Shoeless Joe Jackson is ineligible for the Hall of Fame because he was permanently banned from baseball in 1921 for his involvement in the Black Sox Scandal. Contents 1 Players 2 See also 3 Notes 4 References Players Nap Lajoie is one of three players to earn the Triple Crown in addition to batting. 400 in the same season. George Sisler achieved the. 400 mark and won the MVP Award in 1922. Ted Williams is the last player to post a. 400 batting average in a season, achieving the feat in 1941. Key Year The year of the player 's. 400 season Player ( X ) Name of the player and number of. 400 seasons they had at that point Team The player 's team for his. 400 season NL National League AL American League AA American Association UA Union Association AVG The player 's batting average in that season Career AVG The player 's batting average in his MLB career § Denotes batting average that was part of a Triple Crown season Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame MLB players who have batted. 400 in a season Year Player Team League AVG Career AVG Ref 1876 Ross Barnes Chicago White Stockings NL. 429. 360 1884 Fred Dunlap St. Louis Maroons UA. 412. 292 1887 Tip O'Neill St. Louis Browns AA. 435. 326 1887 Pete Browning Louisville Colonels AA. 402. 341 1894 Hugh Duffy Boston Beaneaters NL. 440. 326 1894 Tuck Turner Philadelphia Phillies NL. 418. 320 1894 Sam Thompson Philadelphia Phillies NL. 415. 331 1894 Ed Delahanty Philadelphia Phillies NL. 404. 346 1894 Billy Hamilton Philadelphia Phillies NL. 403. 344 1895 Jesse Burkett Cleveland Spiders NL. 405. 338 1895 Ed Delahanty ( 2 ) Philadelphia Phillies NL. 404. 346 1896 Jesse Burkett ( 2 ) Cleveland Spiders NL. 410. 338 1896 Hughie Jennings Baltimore Orioles NL. 401. 312 1897 Willie Keeler Baltimore Orioles NL. 424. 341 1899 Ed Delahanty ( 3 ) Philadelphia Phillies NL. 410. 346 1901 Nap Lajoie Philadelphia Athletics AL. 426. 338 1911 Ty Cobb Detroit Tigers AL. 420. 366 1911 Shoeless Joe Jackson Cleveland Naps AL. 408. 356 1912 Ty Cobb ( 2 ) Detroit Tigers AL. 409. 366 1920 George Sisler St. Louis Browns AL. 407. 340 1922 George Sisler ( 2 ) St. Louis Browns AL. 420. 340 1922 Rogers Hornsby St. Louis Cardinals NL. 401. 358 1922 Ty Cobb ( 3 ) Detroit Tigers AL. 401. 366 1923 Harry Heilmann Detroit Tigers AL. 403. 342 1924 Rogers Hornsby ( 2 ) St. Louis Cardinals NL. 424. 358 1925 Rogers Hornsby ( 3 ) St. Louis Cardinals NL. 403. 358 1930 Bill Terry New York Giants NL. 401. 341 1941 Ted Williams Boston Red Sox AL. 406. 344 See also Baseball portal List of Major League Baseball batting champions List of Major League Baseball career batting average leaders Notes Jump up ^ Although MLB was founded in its current iteration in 1903, statistics from the National League, American League, American Association, and Union Association that were recorded before that year have been retroactively recognized as major league. ^ Jump up to : Expressed to three significant figures. Jump up ^ According to the Society for American Baseball Research, Duffy is no longer viewed as having won the Triple Crown in 1894 after `` modern baseball record revisionists '' credited Sam Thompson with six more runs batted in ( RBI ) than he was originally thought to have amassed. This raises Thompson 's season total to 147 RBIs, one more than Duffy. References General `` Single - Season Leaders & Records for Batting Average ''. Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 3, 2016. Specific Jump up ^ `` Guide to baseball ''. BBC News. BBC. Retrieved December 1, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Official Rules : 9.21 -- Determining Percentage Records '' ( PDF ). MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved October 5, 2016. Jump up ^ Marshall, Brian. `` The Three, or Was It Two,. 400 Hitters of 1922 ''. Baseball Research Journal. Society for American Baseball Research. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2016. Jump up ^ McNeal, Stan ( August 29, 2014 ). `` For major league hitters,. 280 is the new. 300 ''. USA Today. Retrieved March 5, 2017. Jump up ^ Crouch, Ian ( September 24, 2014 ). `` The Death of the. 300 Hitter ''. The New Yorker. Retrieved March 5, 2017. Jump up ^ Dwyre, Bill ( September 29, 2011 ). `` This is the way to go out hitting ''. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 5, 2016. Jump up ^ Saccoman, John. `` Ed Delahanty ''. The Baseball Biography Project. Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved October 7, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Rogers Hornsby ''. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Retrieved October 7, 2016. ^ Jump up to : Lamb, Bill. `` Hugh Duffy ''. The Baseball Biography Project. Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved October 7, 2016. Jump up ^ Appel, Marty ( March 18, 1999 ). Slide, Kelly, Slide : The Wild Life and Times of Mike King Kelly. Scarecrow Press. p. 25. ISBN 9781461671206. Retrieved October 5, 2016. Jump up ^ Willis, Jasmine ( November 11, 2015 ). `` The legend the Baseball Hall of Fame forgot ''. Genesee Country Express. Archived from the original on November 16, 2015. Retrieved October 5, 2016. Jump up ^ Mancuso, Peter. `` Tuck Turner 's Magical 1894 Phillies Season ''. The National Pastime. Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved October 7, 2016. Jump up ^ Shenk, Larry ( September 19, 2010 ). `` Profile from the past : Ed Delahanty ''. MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved October 17, 2016. The Phillies ' outfield in 1894 had four players that hit. 400 or better, Delahanty (. 404, 116 games ), Thompson (. 407, 102 games ), Hamilton (. 404, 132 games ) and Tuck Turner (. 416, 82 games ). Jump up ^ `` Most Valuable Player MVP Awards & Cy Young Awards Winners ''. Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 7, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Triple Crown Winners ''. Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 5, 2016. Jump up ^ `` 1911 AL Batting Leaders ''. Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 5, 2017. Jump up ^ Fleitz, David. `` Shoeless Joe Jackson ''. The Baseball Biography Project. Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved March 5, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Career Leaders & Records for Batting Average ''. Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 5, 2016. Jump up ^ Pennington, Bill ( September 17, 2011 ). `` Ted Williams 's. 406 Is More Than a Number ''. The New York Times. Retrieved March 13, 2017. Jump up ^ Brown, Justin ( September 17, 2011 ). `` Why no one bats. 400 anymore ''. The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved March 13, 2017. Jump up ^ Svrluga, Barry ( June 20, 2016 ). `` Why batting. 400 has become baseball 's unhittable benchmark ''. The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 22, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2016. Jump up ^ Singer, Tom ( September 17, 2010 ). `` Summer of. 400 : Brett looks back 30 years later ''. MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Archived from the original on March 6, 2017. Retrieved March 5, 2017. Jump up ^ Sanders, Jeff ( August 4, 2014 ). `` Gwynn 's chase for. 400 still revered ''. The San Diego Union - Tribune. Archived from the original on March 5, 2017. Retrieved March 5, 2017. Jump up ^ Reusse, Patrick ( December 24, 2016 ). `` Twins should consider a celebration of Rod Carew 's pursuit of. 400 ''. Minneapolis Star Tribune. Retrieved April 25, 2018. Jump up ^ `` Baseball Hall of Fame Inductees ''. Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 7, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Rules for Election ''. National Baseball Hall of Fame. Retrieved October 8, 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` Ross Barnes Statistics and History ''. Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` Tuck Turner Statistics and History ''. Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016. Jump up ^ Robinson, Mandrallius ( September 1, 2015 ). `` Shoeless Joe remains banned from MLB, Hall of Fame ''. The Greenville News. Retrieved October 8, 2016. Jump up ^ `` The Chicago Black Sox banned from baseball ''. ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. November 19, 2003. Retrieved October 8, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Fred Dunlap Statistics and History ''. Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Tip O'Neill Statistics and History ''. Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Pete Browning Statistics and History ''. Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` Sam Thompson Statistics and History ''. Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Hugh Duffy Statistics and History ''. Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` Ed Delahanty Statistics and History ''. Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Billy Hamilton Statistics and History ''. Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` Jesse Burkett Statistics and History ''. Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Hughie Jennings Statistics and History ''. Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Willie Keeler Statistics and History ''. Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Nap Lajoie Statistics and History ''. Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` Ty Cobb Statistics and History ''. Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Shoeless Joe Jackson Statistics and History ''. Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` George Sisler Statistics and History ''. Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` Rogers Hornsby Statistics and History ''. Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 4, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Harry Heilmann Statistics and History ''. Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 4, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Bill Terry Statistics and History ''. Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 4, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Ted Williams Statistics and History ''. Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 4, 2016. Major League Baseball players who have batted. 400 in a season 1876 -- 1899 Ross Barnes Fred Dunlap Tip O'Neill Pete Browning Hugh Duffy Tuck Turner Sam Thompson Ed Delahanty ( 3 ) Billy Hamilton Jesse Burkett ( 2 ) Hughie Jennings Willie Keeler 1900 -- 1941 Nap Lajoie Ty Cobb ( 3 ) Shoeless Joe Jackson George Sisler ( 2 ) Rogers Hornsby ( 3 ) Harry Heilmann Bill Terry Ted Williams Major League Baseball records Baseball statistics ( types of records ) General Record holders Single - game records Single - season records Record breakers by season Records considered unbreakable Titles leaders Batting leaders Career Batting average On - base percentage Times on base Slugging percentage OPS Hits 3,000 club Progressive Singles Doubles Triples Home runs 500 club Progressive Extra base hits RBIs Total bases Walks Intentional HBP Strikeouts Games played At - bats Plate appearances Annual Batting average Doubles Triples Home runs RBI Season Batting average Triples Home run Progressive Game Home runs Hitting for the cycle Grand slams RBI Game Inning Hits Misc Consecutive game hitting streak On - base plus slugging Hits Home runs Doubles Triples RBIs Baserunning leaders Career Runs Stolen bases Annual Runs Stolen bases Game Runs Misc Runs Stolen bases Pitching leaders Career Wins 300 club Losses Games started Games finished Innings pitched Strikeouts 3,000 club Saves Complete games Shutouts ERA WHIP Walks Hit batsmen Wild pitches Batters faced Annual Wins Saves Shutouts Strikeouts ERA Game No - hitters Perfect games Strikeouts Game Inning Immaculate innings Misc Wins Fielding leaders Career Putouts 1B 2B SS 3B OF LF CF RF Errors 1B 2B SS 3B OF LF Assists Passed balls Annual Putouts Errors Managing records Wins and winning percentage Multiple stat records Triple Crown 20 -- 20 -- 20 club 30 -- 30 club 40 -- 40 club Other Consecutive games played Longest winning streaks Longest losing streaks Individual streaks Titles streaks Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Major_League_Baseball_players_with_a_.400_batting_average_in_a_season&oldid=850397191 '' Categories : Major League Baseball lists Major League Baseball statistics Hidden categories : Articles with hCards Featured lists Talk Contents About Wikipedia 日本 語 Edit links This page was last edited on 15 July 2018, at 16 : 40 ( UTC ). 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Question: who has the highest single season batting average in mlb history
Answer: Hugh Duffy