Dominant Hitting Seasons

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Oct 1, 2008

Dominant Hitting Seasons

Barry Bonds

Bonds' 73 home runs in 2001 beat McGwire by three and Maris by 12. His 177 walks were also an MLB record.

Babe Ruth

Ruth hit 17 home runs in September 1927 to set a single-season record with 60 to go along with a .356 batting average and 164 RBIs.

Ted Williams

Williams went six of eight in a doubleheader on the last day of the 1941 season to raise his average to .406, the last time anyone has hit over .400 in a season. However, Joe DiMaggio, whose 56-game hitting streak had occurred earlier that year, took home the MVP award.

Mickey Mantle

Mantle won the MVP for his Triple Crown performance in 1956, topping every other player in both the American and National Leagues with a .353 batting average, 52 home runs and 130 RBIs.

Sammy Sosa

Though Sosa eventually gave way to Mark McGwire in the pair's 1998 quest for the single-season home run record, Sosa's 66 home runs easily beat Maris' and placed him third on the all-time list.

Carl Yastrzemski

With a .326 batting average, 44 home runs and 121 RBIs in 1967, Yastrzemski won the AL MVP and became the last player to win baseball's batting Triple Crown.

Frank Robinson

Right after being traded to Baltimore, Robinson won the American League Triple Crown in 1966 with a .316 batting average, 49 home runs and 122 RBIs.

Mark McGwire

His Congressional testimony has soiled his 1998 feat, but demolishing Roger Maris' record of 61 home runs with 70 was not only impressive, but also helped save Major League Baseball four years after a devastating strike.<br><br> Send comments to siwriters@simail.com.