A few weeks ago, I browsed X (Twitter) and a tweet was truly interesting. It’s a video and it showed that a player had collected a lot of hits in the 90’s.
That player isn’t a Hall of Famer. However, his performance was surely memorable for many baseball fans. After reading the tweet, I began to think about those great hitters in the 90’s. In particular, who were the leaders in some hitting categories in the 90’s?
To solve my doubts, I decided to check on the great Fangraphs website.
Mark Grace spent most of his career with the Cubs. He collected 2445 hits in his career. And 1754 hits were hit between 1990 and 1999. Well, Rafael Palmeiro collected more than 3000 hits in his career. In the 90’s, he spent 5 seasons with the Rangers and played for the Orioles for 5 seasons. He had 1700+ hits from 1990 to 1999 as well. Moreover, Hall of Famer Craig Biggio spent his entire career with the Astros. He is a member of the 3000-hit club. In the 90’s, Biggio had 1728 hits. Furthermore, no one will doubt that Tony Gwynn was a great hitter. His career batting average was over .330 and he collected more than 3100 hits. From 1990 to 1999, Gwynn had 1700+ hits as well.
Secondly, let’s look at the home run hitters. Mark McGwire blasted 500+ home runs in his career. Most of those home runs were hit in the 90’s. From 1990 to 1999, McGwire smashed 405 homers. During the same period, Ken Griffey Jr. was selected to the All-Star each season and he crushed 382 home runs. Ken Griffey Jr. is a member of the 600 home run club. Additionally, Barry Bonds smashed 361 home runs and Albert Belle had 350+ home runs.
In addition, let’s look at the RBI leaders. In the 90’s, there were 6 players who collected 1000+ RBI. Albert Belle had 1239 RBI in his career and 1099 RBI were collected from 1990 to 1999. Meanwhile, Ken Griffey Jr. had 1091 RBI and Barry Bonds collected 1076 RBI. Moreover, from 1900 to 1999, Juan Gonzalez played for the Texas Rangers and he was a key hitter in the Rangers lineup with 1068 RBI in the 90’s. Rafael Palmeiro collected exactly 1068 RBI as Juan Gonzalez did. In the meantime, Frank Thomas, who’s a Hall of Famer, began his career in 1990. In the first 10 seasons of his career, he had 1000+ RBI.
Finally, from 1990 to 1999, 3 qualified hitters owned an OPS over 1.000. Barry Bonds had an OPS of 1.036. The other 2 players are Mark McGwire and Frank Thomas. In the meantime, Manny Ramirez began his career in 1993. From 1993 to 1999, his OPS was over .970. Furthermore, Hall of Famer Mike Piazza began his career in 1992. From 1992 to 1999, his OPS was over .960. Additionally, Ken Griffey Jr., Larry Walker and Edgar Martinez each owned an OPS over .960 from 1990 to 1999. Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell made his MLB debut in 1991. From 1991 to 1999, his OPS was over .960 as well.
Looking back at those great hitters in the 90’s, there are certainly household names. Tony Gwynn and Craig Biggio were able to collect many hits. They were later induced to the Hall of Fame. However, the hits leader was Mark Grace from 1990 to 1999. But looking at other categories, there’s no surprise that Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr., Mark McGwire and Frank Thomas are commonly mentioned.
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