Onward and upward (as "they" used to say...) into ever-more frequent displays of peak hitting performance. This time, we're going to show the hitters with four and five half-seasons on the Top 600 list: the two groups are mixed together temporally to maintain an overall chronological approach. Here we go:
Five of the seven hitters in the 1913-1959 time frame are already in Cooperstown; the short careers of Gavvy Cravath (late bloomer) and Charlie Keller (premature career-ending injury) have kept those two on the outside looking in.
The five-timer list in this time frame creates a comparison that rarely seems to get made by baseball's stat analysts: Joe DiMaggio and Johnny Mize. Teammates on the Yankees briefly during the final phase of their WWII-shortened careers, these two conjure opposed memories--Joe D. a graceful, right-hand hitting center fielder, Mize a brawny, left-hand hitting first baseman--but their overall career stats are virtually identical. Their greatest seasons both occurred before the war, though Mize's early years in the Polo Grounds (1946-48) provided him with a short porch that boosted his homer totals.
Duke Snider's career HR totals might seem less impressive in the wake of what followed in subsequent seasons, but his five consecutive 40+-HR seasons is still a record. Five appearances in the Top 600 is another indicator of his peak performance capabilities, including a whopper of a "wraparound season" (2nd half '53/first half '54) that combines for 47 HR, 141 RBI and a .700+ SLG.
Now we move (inexorably) toward the present day:
It's still quite possible that Mike Trout will at least join the "five-timer" group before his career is over, though injuries have slowed him down a bit since his last appearance in the Top 600. The other "four-timers" shown here are either still outside the Hall of Fame (Norm Cash, whose candidacy is still valiantly advocated by Bill James...) or considered by some as somewhat "marginal" inductions (Billy Williams and David Ortiz).
The most recent "five-timers" are all on much firmer ground, with longer careers and elevated totals in counting stats (three of the four with 3000+ hits, three of four with 1500+ RBI, two of four with 500+ HR). All four (Carl Yastrzemski, George Brett, Manny Ramirez and Miguel Cabrera) have "Top 100" credentials within umbrella of the Top 600 as well, with Cabrera's "wraparound year" (2nd half 2012/1st half 2013) especially impressive: 56 HR, 163 RBI, .355 BA, .670 SLG.
As of now, eight of the 15 hitters in the "4's" and "5's" are in the Hall of Fame. Eventually that total will be eleven (though it appears that it will take some form of "Vets Committee" to get Ramirez in, due to his perceived transgressions), which means that the "HOF peak percentage" for these two combined categories will (ultimately) reach 73%.
We'll continue onward (and upward) in short order...
