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NO STAT IS SAFE. NO ERA IS FORGOTTEN.
VOL. 1, NO. 29 · SEPTEMBER 14, 2026 · EVERY MONDAY
ISSUE #029 · FREE AGENT
Tony Gwynn — .338 Career
Average In The Steroid Era
On August 11, 1994, Tony Gwynn's .394 season was halted by the players' strike — the closest anyone
📅 THIS DATE IN
BASEBALL came to .400 since Williams.
THE STAT THAT SHOULDN'T EXIST 01
THE BEST PURE CONTACT HITTER OF THE LAST 50 YEARS — IN AN ERA THAT WORSHIPPED POWER.
.338 Career Average. Hit .394 In 1994. Never Below
.309 In Any Full Season.
.338 .394 0
TONY GWYNN CAREER BA 1994 BA AT STRIKE CAREER SEASONS BELOW .309
BATTING TITLES CAREER STRIKEOUT RATE WADE BOGGS CAREER BA
Gwynn hit .338 for his career across 20 seasons, won 8 batting titles, and never hit below .309 in any full
season. In the strike-shortened 1994 season he was hitting .394 when the season ended — the closest
anyone has come to .400 since Ted Williams in 1941.
THE GAME YOU FORGOT 02
VS Colorado Rockies AUGUST 11, 1994
.394
SEASON BA AT STRIKE GAMES PLAYED K RATE SEASON OBP
Season ended (strike)
RESULT
The .394 Season
THE SEASON THAT SHOULD HAVE ENDED THE .400 DROUGHT
The 1994 players' strike ended on August 11. Tony Gwynn was hitting .394 in 110 games — the highest
average in baseball since Williams' .406 in 1941. He was on pace for the first .400 season in 53 years. He
struck out 19 times in 110 games — a K rate of 2.4%. The season ended. The .400 average never happened.
Gwynn said it was the great regret of his career — not that he didn't hit it, but that nobody got to find out.
ERA VS ERA 03
Greatest Pure Contact Hitter Of The Last 50 Years?
TONY GWYNN WADE BOGGS
CAREER BA CAREER BA
.338 .328
BATTING TITLES VS BATTING TITLES
K RATE CAREER OBP
Gwynn's .338 edges Boggs' .328. Both have 8 and 5 batting titles respectively. Boggs' OBP (.415) is higher.
Gwynn's contact rates are more extreme — he struck out 4.4% of plate appearances in an era when 20% is
normal. Both are legitimate claims. The consensus: Gwynn was the better hitter. Boggs was the better on-base
machine.
Greatest pure contact hitter since 1970?
TONY GWYNN WADE BOGGS ROD CAREW GEORGE BRETT
THE COLDEST MOMENT 04
THE PROCESS BEHIND .338
He Studied Videotape Of Himself Obsessively. Kept
Every At-Bat On VHS. Built His Own Library.
Gwynn was the first player to extensively study his own at-bats on videotape, building a
personal library of every pitcher he faced. He catalogued tendencies, release points, and his
own swing adjustments. When he was in slumps — which were brief by any normal standard —
he'd find the tape and diagnose the problem mechanically. His colleagues said watching him
study tape was like watching a scientist.
You only get out of it what you put in. The kids today don't realize that.
— TONY GWYNN
THE STAT VAULT 05
CAREER BATTING AVERAGE
1994 BATTING AVERAGE (STRIKE SEASON)
.338 8 batting titles across 20 seasons. One of .394
The closest anyone has come to .400
the highest career averages in the modern
since Ted Williams in 1941.
era.
BATTING TITLES CAREER STRIKEOUT RATE
Tied with Honus Wagner for most NL In an era of 20%+ K rates, Gwynn
batting titles in history. averaged 4.4% over 20 seasons.
2005 YEAR HE DIED OF CANCER
Salivary gland cancer at 54. He was a longtime smokeless tobacco user and attributed it publicly.
THE FORGOTTEN MAN 06
OVERLOOKED · UNDERRATED · DESERVES MORE
Mark Belanger
BALTIMORE ORIOLES · 1965-1982
8 GOLD GLOVES · .228 CAREER BA · ORIOLES DYNASTY BACKBONE
The Greatest Defensive Shortstop Of His Era. Hit .228. Completely Forgotten.
Mark Belanger won 8 Gold Gloves at shortstop and was widely considered the best defensive shortstop in
the AL through the 1970s. He hit .228 for his career, which limited his historical profile. He was the shortstop
on the Orioles dynasty teams that won the 1970 World Series and contended annually. His defensive value
didn't show up in stats the way Gwynn's BA did.
THE CONNECTION:
Belanger and Gwynn both mastered a skill that doesn't generate highlights — Belanger with range
and glove, Gwynn with contact. Belanger's craft is invisible in the box score. His eight Gold Gloves
say what the .228 doesn't.
COMING NEXT MONDAY
Next Monday: Ozzie Smith won 13 Gold Gloves and hit a walk-off HR he'd never hit before — in the NLCS.
Who's Your Forgotten Man?
Reply with a player from any era who deserves more credit. Best answer gets featured next Monday.
All Eras. All Stats. No Debate.
Every Monday. No exceptions.