The best of the best: chronicling the top MLB hitters of the past 21 years

The Big Hurt was one of the many potent hitters who dominated during my childhood.

When I was very young, from years two to seven, I lived in Grants Pass, Oregon, and spent much of my time with my grandparents. While there, as my parents worked, I would watch what my grandmother was watching, which, in the afternoons, tended to be the Atlanta Braves on TBS.

Skip Caray and Joe Simpson were superb behind the mic, and we had the pleasure of watching Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, crazy John Rocker, Chipper Jones, Ryan Klesko, Mark Lemke, Andruw Jones, and Javy Lopez in their talented primes.

Given my love for baseball overall during my youth, the thought occurred to me: list the top hitters and pitchers of the past 21 years. Braves Baseball on TBS was no more after the 2007 season, but Atlanta being on TBS today against the New York Mets brought back even more memories of years past–when large contracts weren’t in high demand but steroids were.

Here now are the top-10 hitters of the past 21 years, leaving off those who are alleged steroid users.

10. Albert Belle, Indians,White Sox, Orioles: Belle was one of the few power hitters not to be seriously linked to steroids during the 1990s. There was suspicion, given his incredible power, but he dismissed any notion that he juiced. He had his tantrums, and some believed those to stem from ‘roid rage. “No,” he answered in response. “I was just an angry black man.”

Pitchers can attest to that. He was terrifying at the plate. In his 11-year career, his 162-game average was 40 homers and 130 rbi’s. In strike-shortened 1995, at age 28, he led the league with 52 doubles, 121 runs scored, 50 homers, and 126 rbi’s, and yet barely lost the MVP to Boston’s Mo Vaughn (12 to 11 first-place votes, 308 to 300 total vote points.). During his two years with the White Sox–the 1997 and 1998 seasons–he had a whopping 79 homers and 268 rbi’s.

Over the course of his outstanding career he teamed up with future Jim Thome and Frank Thomas to form two of the most dangerous duos in baseball history. He should be in the Hall of Fame, but I guess a .295 career average with 381 homers, 1,729 rbi’s, and 1,726 hits isn’t good enough. Just because he didn’t play 15-20 years and reach 500 homers or 2,000 hits doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be enshrined.

9. Nomar Garciaparra, Red Sox, Cubs, Dodgers, A’s: Garciaparra was one of my favorite players growing up, with fidgety mannerisms at the plate and an incredible bat. He was a hitting machine, particularly for Boston. The heart and soul of a team that had plenty of characters, he could always be counted on, driving in 100-plus rbi’s four times while amassing 190 or more hits six times.

His prime was far too short, as he battled injuries before being traded to the Cubs in 2004 and thereafter. He was still a .313 career hitter over 14 seasons, with unforgettable talent.

8. Frank Thomas, White Sox, A’s, Blue Jays: “The Big Hurt” tore the cover off the ball for the better part of 19 seasons. Menacing at the plate, but one of the nicest guys in the game, he was yet another power hitter in the era who did more than just hit homers. He finished third in the American League MVP voting in his first full season. And he only got better. He never compiled over 200 hits in a season, yet OBP was consistently well over .450, which speaks to his eye at the plate, and shows how much he was walked and pitched around.

A .300 batting average, nearly 2,500 hits, over 500 homers and 1,700 rbi’s–all of this he accomplished while only averaged 122 games per season.

Chipper Jones, current Met-killer, future Hall of Famer, and my favorite player as a kid. (AP Photo/Tami Chappell)

7. Jim Thome, Indians, Phillies, White Sox, Dodgers, Twins: Thome has had a very similar career to Thomas. He hasn’t hit for the same average, at .277 over 21 seasons, but he was a force for a long time. He hit 40-plus homers seven times. Three came with the Cleveland Indians, a team that also featured Ramirez and David Justice. He is on the cusp of reaching 600 homers for his career, on his third AL Central team, the Chicago White Sox, looking to put the crowning touch on a very efficient stint as one of baseball’s best.

6. Vladimir Guerrero, Expos, Angels, Rangers, Orioles: The best bad-ball hitter in the history, Guerrero could, and still can, golf pitches thrown at his shoes a long way. He has collected hits on balls that have bounced before reaching the plate, and has been as pure a hitter as anyone. Old-school, not wearing batting gloves, and the definition of a free-swinger, Guerrero has tormented opposing pitchers for 16 years, with the accomplishments in every noteworthy statistical category to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

5. Cal Ripken, Orioles: 3,000-plus hits, and played in an unbelievable 2,632 straight games, breaking Lou Gehrig’s streak. He was the face of Baltimore for two decades, a 19-time All-Star and a two-time MVP.

4. Chipper Jones, Braves: My favorite player growing up, and still near the top of my list, Jones has been to Atlanta what Ripken was to Baltimore. He has more than 2,500 hits, nine seasons of 100 or more rbi’s, and a career .304 batting average, .403 OBP, and .935 OPS.

He has particularly dominated the New York Mets in his career. And he knows it; his son’s name is Shea after the former Mets home, Shea Stadium. He broke their hearts again today. After coming in as part of a double-switch late, he knocked a single through the right-side to plate the go-ahead and eventual winning run. He is now hitting .318 with 47 homers and 148 rbi’s in 224 games against the Braves rival. Incredible.

This says it all, a gem compiled by the Atlanta Journal Constitutional‘s Dave O’Brien: Chipper’s mentality in ninth inning at bat in New York: “I hope that somewhere in the stands somebody was saying to themselves oh no. Not him. Not now. “

3. Derek Jeter, Yankees: The Yankees captain recently surpassed 3,000 hits, and is without a doubt a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He has lost a few steps over the years, but the five-time World Series champion has had an outstanding career statistically. He has also, until recently, never been one to create controversy. He has just gone about his business, playing the game very, very well.

2. Albert Pujols, Cardinals: Pujols’ numbers in 11 seasons are startling. His average season says it all: 196 hits, 123 runs scored, 42 homers, 127 rbi’s, only 67 strikeouts, a .328 batting average, and a .421 OBP. Wow.

1. Ken Griffey Jr., Mariners, Reds, White Sox: Griffey could have been much more than what he was if not for injuries, but he was still the best hitter of the past 21 years. After the age of 31, the most games he played in a season was 144, and he had five seasons in which he played less than 110. Still, he ranks fifth all-time with 608 homers. He also has 1836 rbi’s, ranking 15th all-time, along with 2,781 hits. All of this in spite of so many shortened seasons. It’s amazing what Junior was able to do.

These ten, and many more, made my childhood incredibly joyful. Baseball was the sport, and in large part because of what these players accomplished it will continue to be.

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So close to making the list:

Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners: Honestly, I completely forgot about him when putting together this list. He has been incredibly consistent, one of the better hitters ever to play. He has 2,369 hits in 11 seasons, an average of 215 per. He also has a .327 career batting average. Why is he not in the top-ten? In my mind, there’s just so many deserving players. Who would he replace?

Roberto Alomar, Padres, Blue Jays, Orioles, Indians, Mets, White Sox, Diamondbacks: 10-time Gold Glove winner at shortstop, .300 career hitter, and had 2,724 career hits. It’s a very impressive resume, and he is another tough player to leave off. The line has to be drawn somewhere. The Hall of Famer was so much fun to watch–dazzling at the plate and in the field.

Fred McGriff, Blue Jays, Padres, Braves, Devil Rays, Cubs, Dodgers: The “Crime Dog” wasn’t a 40-homer, .300-plus batting average player, but he was one of the more consistent power hitters of his day, which lasted the better part of 19 seasons. He drove in 100 or more rbi’s 11 times, nearly hit 500 homers, always had a very high On Base Percentage, and, simply put, just quietly played the game very well. Not taking steroids is another feather in his cap. His Hall of Fame candidacy is hurt, however, because his stats don’t stack up to alleged steroid users’–he only garnered 17.9 percent of the vote, which is ridiculous.

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Alleged steroid users who would have been in top-ten if not for suspicion or proven guilt: Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield, and Manny Ramirez.