...as in 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17.
That's the "gaposis" in the Top 600 pantheon as we move into the most rarefied, sacrosanct--and controversial--region of the half-season peak performances.
And we have not one, but two hitters who cracked the Top 300 in either the first half or the second half a staggering total of 18 times.
One is arguably the most venerated of all baseball players (at least this side of Don Mattingly); the other is the most vilified (the flip side of Hal Chase).
We think you'll recognize the names as they each flash by 18 times...
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Actually, Lou Gehrig and Barry Bonds make for a fascinating juxtaposition. Larrupin' Lou has his greatest half-season in his very first appearance on the list, with more than 100 RBI, 68 (!) extra-base hits, a batting average of .398 and an OPS of 1.314. It's the fifth best first-half offensive performance in baseball history.
Bad Boy Barry takes a little while longer to get going, breaking through in the "wraparound year" of 1992-93 (second half/first half) where he hits .334 with 43 HR and 125 RBI. The inkling that something extraordinary is coming, however, doesn't really appear until 2000, when his HR totals and SLG take a marked turn upward, presaging the otherworldly achievements that followed in 2001-04, where seven of his eight half-seasons during that time are in the Top Ten of all-time.
Of especial note is Barry's .908 SLG while he is in pursuit of Mark McGwire's shockingly short-lived single-season HR record during the second half of 2001; like Gehrig's first half in 1927, it ranks 5th all-time. He's in the top ten seven more times during this time frame. His SLG exceeds .800 in five half-seasons. By 2004, no one wants to pitch to him--and he still manages to hit 45 HR that year and post the identical OPS (a staggering 1.421) in each half!
There are only three players who outpace these two in terms of the number of Top 300 half-seasons...we think you have a good idea of just who they are, and we'll be seeing them directly. Stay tuned...
