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Greatest batters of 2001-2005 – by G. Scott Thomas

August 15, 2022

My weekly breakdown of the best hitters throughout five-year intervals has reached the twenty-first century. And Alex Rodriguez and Barry Bonds have emerged as the most recent champions.

Rodriguez break up the interval of 2001-2005 between two positions and golf equipment — shortstop for the Texas Rangers (2001-2003) and third baseman for the New York Yankees (2004-2005). He gained an American League Most Useful Participant Award at every cease (2003, 2005), and he blasted a five-year whole of 240 house runs. No one else within the AL had greater than 199.

Bonds spent all 5 seasons because the left fielder for the San Francisco Giants and the almost-permanent proprietor of the Nationwide League’s MVP trophy, which he gained 4 years working (2001-2004). His five-year batting common of .347 was eight factors higher than the BA for anyone else within the majors.

There’s an asterisk, in fact. Rodriguez admitted to taking performance-enhancing medication throughout his Texas keep, and Bonds was suspected of comparable transgressions, although the latter stay unproven.

However the scores for 2001-2005 don’t take PEDs under consideration. They’re primarily based solely on my Five-Year Test, which ranks hitters in these classes:

Batting common
Slugging common
Bases per out
Runs scored per 500 plate appearances
Runs batted in per 500 plate appearances
Wins above substitute (WAR) per 500 plate appearances

The 2001-2005 rankings embody each batter who made a minimal of two plate appearances per sport, unfold out over the complete five-year interval. That may translate to a threshold of 1,620 appearances over a traditional schedule.

A complete of 93 batters certified for the American League rankings, as did 96 within the Nationwide League. The AL hitters collectively carried a batting common (BA) of .277 and a ratio of bases per out (BPO) of .784 throughout the half-decade. The corresponding figures for the NL have been a .279 BA and an .803 BPO.

Proper behind Rodriguez within the American League’s rankings for 2001-2005 have been Manny Ramirez and Jason Giambi. Subsequent to Bonds on the Nationwide League aspect have been Albert Pujols and Todd Helton. The 2 AL runners-up have been additionally shadowed by steroid suspicions and allegations. The 2 within the NL weren’t.

Scroll down to search out lists of each leagues’ 20 greatest hitters within the interval. Every batter is adopted by a breakdown of his 2001-2005 statistics: video games, hits, house runs, batting common, and bases per out. The primary three stats weren’t a part of the 5-Yr Take a look at, however I’ve added them right here to supply a little bit of context.

I began this sequence on June 17 with a breakdown of the interval from 1961 to 1965, and I’ll preserve going every subsequent Friday till I attain 2016-2020. Subsequent week’s version, naturally sufficient, will probably be dedicated to the perfect hitters of 2006-2010.

You may see the earlier standings via these hyperlinks:

A brand new installment will arrive in your electronic mail every Tuesday and Friday morning