200 Hits & 40 Homers in One Season: Who Is in This Elite Club?

As you can imagine, many of these performances are pretty epic.

Aug 09, 2024

Registering a season with 200-plus hits and at least 40 home runs is one of the ultimate achievements for a position player not many of us talk about. If you're thinking this blend of having a high batting average with a ridiculous amount of power sounds rare, that's because it is.

This rare feat has been accomplished by just 24 players in Major League Baseball history. An even smaller subset within this group includes sluggers with 50-plus homers and at least 200 hits in the same season. We'll talk about them in detail before listing out the rest of the dudes in this club.

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Babe Ruth, New York Yankees (1921)

The 1921 season for Babe Ruth was just outrageous. It was his second straight year of slugging 50-plus homers. It was also the fourth year in a row he led the league in dingers. Overall, the Sultan of Swat slashed .378/.512/.846 with 59 homers, 44 doubles, 168 RBI, and 177 runs scored. What set this performance apart from what he did in 1920 was the number of total hits he recorded.

Ruth set a new career-high mark in '21 with 204 hits. It was the first of three times he surpassed 200 during a single season. He did it in 1923 and 1924. Unsurprisingly, the left-handed slugger also posted 40-plus homers in each of those campaigns.

Jimmie Foxx, Philadelphia Athletics (1932)

Between 1930 and 1931 for the A's, Jimmie Foxx posted a 1.009 OPS and combined to hit 67 homers with 276 RBI, 220 runs scored, and 338 total hits. Excellent numbers for the Hall of Fame slugger. It also helps put in perspective what he did in 1932 for Philadelphia.

Foxx racked up 1,267 plate appearances in those two years. He stepped to the plate 702 times in '32. It led to a 1.218 OPS with 58 homers, 169 RBI, 151 runs scored, and 213 hits. This was the first of consecutive MVP Award seasons for Foxx. He also led the league in homers and RBI on both occasions.

Hack Wilson, Chicago Cubs (1930)

Hack Wilson's 1930 performance is notable for a couple of reasons. One is that his 191 RBI is an MLB record (that will just about surely never be broken). The other is the 56 homers he hit, which is tied with Ken Griffey Jr. for the most ever in a single season by a primary center fielder.

As if this campaign wasn't already impressive enough, Wilson added 208 hits to his ledger to be a part of this exclusive club. Wilson slashed .356/.454/.723 across 709 plate appearances for Chicago. The outfielder nearly joined this club the year before, too. Wilson's 1929 season included 39 homers and 198 hits in 670 trips to the plate.

Alex Rodriguez, Texas Rangers (2001)

Alex Rodriguez spent three years with the Rangers from 2001-03. Texas struggled as a team, never winning more than 73 games in a season during A-Rod's stay with the club. But my goodness the shortstop took his production to another level. He missed just one game in three years and never finished with fewer than 47 homers or 180 total hits.

A-Rod joined the magical 200 hits and 40 HR season club during his first year in Texas. In addition to hitting 52 homers, Rodriguez racked up 201 hits with a 1.021 OPS.

200 Hits and 40 HR in a Season: Other Members

As mentioned previously, 24 players have recorded a season with 200-plus hits and at least 40 homers. Here's a quick list of the ones not mentioned above:

Larry Walker: 49 homers, 208 hits in 1997
Lou Gehrig: five times (1927, 1930, 1931, 1934, 1936)
Adrian Beltre: 48 homers and 200 hits in 2004
Albert Belle: 48 homers and 200 hits in 1998
Vinny Castilla: 46 homers and 206 hits in 1998
Jim Rice: 46 homers and 213 hits in 1978
Joe DiMaggio: 46 homers and 215 hits in 1937
Miguel Cabrera: 44 homers and 205 hits in 2012
Mo Vaughn: 44 homers and 207 hits in 1996
Hank Aaron: 44 homers and 201 hits in 1963
Albert Pujols: 43 homers and 212 hits in 2003
Al Rosen: 43 homers and 201 hits in 1953
Chuck Klein: twice (1929 and 1930)
Todd Helton: 42 homers and 216 hits in 2000
Billy Williams: 42 homers and 205 hits in 1970
Hal Trosky: 42 homers and 216 hits in 1936
Rogers Hornsby: 42 homers and 250 (!) hits in 1922
Mike Piazza: 40 homers and 201 hits in 1997
Ellis Burks: 40 homers and 211 hits in 1996
Hank Greenberg: 40 homers and 200 hits in 1937

200 Hits and 40 HR in a Season: Near Misses

Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants

Barry Bonds has done a lot of incredible things during his career. Being the single-season and all-time home run king, as well as residing in the 40-40 club, are just a few. However, he never joined the 200 hits and 40 HR season club.

The closest he came was in 1993, which was his first year with the Giants. He led the league in homers (46) and RBI (123) while collecting a career-high 181 hits.

Ted Williams, Boston Red Sox

Ted Williams is widely regarded as one of the best hitters in MLB history. That's evidenced by his .344 career batting average, but he never joined this exclusive club. The closest he came was in 1949, which was his only season of 40-plus homers. Williams went deep a career-high 43 times while also registering a career-high 194 hits.

This is obviously not an exhaustive of near misses for the 40-200 club. However, I would’ve assumed Bonds and Williams accomplished the feat and I was surprised to not see them on the list. There is a longer list of players who have reached both numbers, but just not in the same season.

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