Best batters of 1991-1995 – by G. Scott Thomas

A new generation of baseball superstars blossomed in the first half of the 1990s:

• Frank Thomas, a heavily muscled first baseman from Auburn University, led the American League in on-base percentage three times between 1991 and 1995, while winning a pair of Most Valuable Player Awards at age 25 (1993) and 26 (1994).

• Center fielder Ken Griffey Jr., the son and namesake of a key member of Cincinnati’s Big Red Machine in the 1970s, hinted at greatness well beyond his father’s. The younger Griffey drove home at least 100 runs three times in the 1991-1995 period, while becoming one of only four big leaguers to reach more than one base per out over that span.

• Left fielder Barry Bonds, another son of a well-known player, duplicated Thomas’s feat by taking home a pair of MVP trophies from 1991 to 1995, his at ages 28 (1992) and 29 (1993). Bonds emerged as the major-league leader in BPO with a 1.249 mark over the five years.

I’ve been breaking down the best batters of the Modern Era in five-year intervals this summer, and as should already be obvious, my journey has now reached the stop for 1991-1995.

My rankings show Thomas of the Chicago White Sox in first place among the span’s American League hitters, with Griffey of the Seattle Mariners a close second. Bonds, who split the period between the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants, was the clear winner in the National League.

The ratings for 1991-1995 are based on my Five-Year Test, which ranks hitters in these categories:

• Batting average

• Slugging average

• Bases per out

• Runs scored per 500 plate appearances

• Runs batted in per 500 plate appearances

• Wins above replacement (WAR) per 500 plate appearances

The 1991-1995 rankings include every batter who made a minimum of two plate appearances per game, spread out over the full five-year period. That would translate to a threshold of 1,620 appearances over a normal schedule, though the number was reduced a bit for these players, since the labor dispute of 1994-1995 cut into their inventory of games.

A total of 94 batters qualified for the American League rankings, as did 81 on the National League side. The AL hitters collectively carried a batting average (BA) of .274 and a ratio of bases per out (BPO) of .765 for the half-decade. The corresponding norms for the NL were a .278 BA and a .761 BPO.

The runners-up behind Thomas in the American League’s rankings for 1991-1995 were Griffey and Albert Belle. Right behind Bonds on the National League side were Mike Piazza and Jeff Bagwell.

Look below to find lists of both leagues’ 20 best hitters. Each batter below is followed by a breakdown of his 1991-1995 statistics: games, hits, home runs, batting average, and bases per out. The first three stats were not part of the Five-Year Test, but I’ve added them here to flesh out the picture.

I started this series on Friday, June 17, with a breakdown of the period from 1961 to 1965, and I’ll keep going until I reach 2016-2020. Next Friday’s story will be devoted — you guessed it — to the best hitters of 1996-2000.

You can see the previous standings through these links:

A new installment will arrive in your email each Tuesday and Friday morning

• 1. Frank Thomas, G 729, H 830, HR 175, BA .323, BPO 1.189

• 2. Ken Griffey Jr., G 635, H 740, HR 151, BA .310, BPO 1.020

• 3. Albert Belle, G 684, H 774, HR 186, BA .298, BPO .975

• 4. Edgar Martinez, G 561, H 655, HR 78, BA .320, BPO .995

• 5. Tim Salmon, G 408, H 444, HR 90, BA .295, BPO .988

• 6. Paul O’Neill, G 371, H 425, HR 63, BA .321, BPO .947

• 7. Rafael Palmeiro, G 732, H 853, HR 147, BA .302, BPO .925

• 8. Kenny Lofton, G 526, H 658, HR 25, BA .316, BPO .933

• 9. Mark McGwire, G 471, H 371, HR 121, BA .250, BPO .998

• 10. Jose Canseco, G 546, H 560, HR 135, BA .271, BPO .898

• 11. John Valentin, G 421, H 431, HR 52, BA .292, BPO .889

• 12. Kirby Puckett, G 713, H 897, HR 99, BA .315, BPO .820

• 13. Lou Whitaker, G 563, H 538, HR 77, BA .287, BPO .908

• 14. Paul Molitor, G 721, H 919, HR 80, BA .318, BPO .906

• 15. Juan Gonzalez, G 634, H 682, HR 162, BA .280, BPO .830

• 16. Shane Mack, G 508, H 566, HR 59, BA .306, BPO .854

• 17. Julio Franco, G 437, H 518, HR 51, BA .312, BPO .865

• 18. Rickey Henderson, G 584, H 576, HR 69, BA .281, BPO 1.023

• 19. Mike Stanley, G 493, H 411, HR 72, BA .280, BPO .873

• 20. Carlos Baerga, G 711, H 890, HR 86, BA .310, BPO .764

• 1. Barry Bonds, G 708, H 748, HR 175, BA .309, BPO 1.249

• 2. Mike Piazza, G 389, H 469, HR 92, BA .322, BPO .922

• 3. Jeff Bagwell, G 684, H 771, HR 113, BA .306, BPO .955

• 4. Dante Bichette, G 396, H 511, HR 88, BA .319, BPO .901

• 5. Gary Sheffield, G 436, H 487, HR 96, BA .307, BPO .989

• 6. Larry Walker, G 652, H 708, HR 116, BA .296, BPO .931

• 7. Fred McGriff, G 713, H 744, HR 164, BA .290, BPO .949

• 8. Tony Gwynn, G 629, H 870, HR 38, BA .349, BPO .835

• 9. Barry Larkin, G 604, H 700, HR 64, BA .304, BPO .905

• 10. Moises Alou, G 451, H 471, HR 63, BA .296, BPO .854

• 11. John Kruk, G 521, H 568, HR 50, BA .310, BPO .905

• 12. Matt Williams, G 636, H 662, HR 158, BA .273, BPO .805

• 13. Reggie Sanders, G 503, H 501, HR 78, BA .278, BPO .884

• 14. David Justice, G 634, H 605, HR 125, BA .272, BPO .895

• 15. Ron Gant, G 583, H 561, HR 114, BA .264, BPO .872

• 16. Ryne Sandberg, G 490, H 550, HR 66, BA .293, BPO .828

• 17. Will Clark, G 424, H 463, HR 59, BA .295, BPO .861

• 18. Bobby Bonilla, G 612, H 636, HR 109, BA .284, BPO .871

• 19. Sammy Sosa, G 475, H 503, HR 102, BA .272, BPO .826

• 20. Lenny Dykstra, G 455, H 524, HR 35, BA .292, BPO .922