Expert: Tom Schott - 5/11/2009

Question
I know the 1993 Jays had the 3 top BA's in the AL (Olerud, Molitor and Alomar).

Has anyone else accomplished this feat?  Has anyone come close?

Thanks for the help.

Answer
Revision: Changed Subject

Hello, Tony. Interesting question. The top three hitters with the 1993 Blue Jays was the only time in baseball history that has happened. There have been several near misses. If we define a near miss as 3 of the top five hitters in the league, here's what we come up with.

Teams with 3 of the Top 5 Hitters in a Season

American League        National League

1908 Detroit         1914 Brooklyn
1. Cobb                1. Daubert
2. Crawford            3. Dalton
5. McIntyre           4. Wheat
                       5. Stengel

1919 Detroit         1921 St Louis
1. Cobb              1. Hornsby
2. Veach             3. McHenry
5. Flagstead         5. Fournier   


1925 Detroit
1. Heilmann
4. Cobb
5. Wingo   


1926 Detroit
1. Manush
3. Forthergill
4. Heilmann   


1946 Boston
2. Williams
3. Pesky
5. DiMaggio   


1950 Boston
1. Goodman
3. DiMaggio
5. Zarilla   


1993 Toronto
1. Olerud
2. Molitor
3. Alomar   

Every time this has happened except once (Boston in 1950), at least one Hall of Famer was in the mix. There have been many, many times where a team had 2 of the top 3 hitters in the league, the last time in the NL, Colorado's Walker and Helton, 1-2 in 2001, and in the AL, Yankees Jeter and Cano, 2-3 in 2006.