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Touch 'em all
Gonzalez joins elite club of total base fiends
Posted: Tuesday October 02, 2001 2:26 AM
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Arizona's Luis Gonzalez leads a group of sluggers toward 400 total bases. AP |
By Jacob Luft, CNNSI.com
Ted Williams never did it. Neither did Willie Mays, Frank Robinson or Reggie Jackson.
Luis Gonzalez did, and with six games left in the season no less.
"It" is 400 total bases in a season. Total bases only can be accumulated by singles, doubles, triples and home runs. Walks and stolen bases do not count, hence the rarity of the 400-total base feat. When Mark McGwire hit his record 70 home runs in 1998, he fell 17 bases shy.
With 403 total bases as of Oct. 1, Gonzalez became the 18th player in baseball history to surpass the 400-total base mark. Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds and Todd Helton followed suit to increase the all-time number of 400 seasons to 29 (see chart, below).
| Base Instincts |
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Players close to or beyond 400 total bases this season:
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| Player |
Team |
TB |
| Sammy Sosa |
CHC |
425 |
| Luis Gonzalez |
ARI |
419 |
| Barry Bonds |
SF |
411 |
| Todd Helton |
COL |
402 |
| Alex Rodriguez |
TEX |
393 |
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Note: Through Oct. 2, 2001
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This was a banner season for the category, with four players joining the 400 club, matching the high set in 1930. There were two in 1927, '29, '32, '36 and '37.
This isn't anything new for Sosa and Helton, who became the the sixth and seventh players in history with more than one 400 season. Lou Gehrig has the most with an amazing five, followed by Chuck Klein (3), Babe Ruth (2), Jimmie Foxx (2) and Rogers Hornsby (2).
Rodriguez took over the single-season shortstop record from Ernie Banks in 1998 with 384 and easily eclipsed that total this season. He threatened to become the first AL player to reach the mark since Jim Rice in 1978. Bonds had never had more than 365 in a season (1993), and Gonzalez's career-high was 337 in '99.
Historically, the total base race has impacted MVP selections. League leaders in total bases have compiled 43 MVP awards, including Sosa in 1998 and Ken Griffey Jr. in '97.
| 400 Total Bases in a Season |
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| American League |
| Year |
Player |
Team |
1B |
2B |
3B |
HR |
TB |
| 1921 |
Babe Ruth |
NYY |
85 |
44 |
16 |
59 |
457 |
| 1927 |
Lou Gehrig |
NYY |
101 |
52 |
18 |
47 |
447 |
| 1932 |
Jimmie Foxx |
PHI |
113 |
33 |
9 |
58 |
438 |
| 1930 |
Lou Gehrig |
NYY |
120 |
42 |
17 |
41 |
419 |
| 1937 |
Joe DiMaggio |
NYY |
119 |
35 |
15 |
46 |
418 |
| 1927 |
Babe Ruth |
NYY |
95 |
29 |
8 |
60 |
417 |
| 1931 |
Lou Gehrig |
NYY |
119 |
31 |
15 |
46 |
410 |
| 1934 |
Lou Gehrig |
NYY |
115 |
40 |
6 |
49 |
409 |
| 1978 |
Jim Rice |
BOS |
127 |
25 |
15 |
46 |
406 |
| 1936 |
Hal Trotsky |
CLE |
120 |
45 |
9 |
42 |
405 |
| 1933 |
Jimmie Foxx |
PHI |
110 |
37 |
9 |
48 |
403 |
| 1936 |
Lou Gehrig |
NYY |
112 |
37 |
7 |
49 |
403 |
| National League |
| Year |
Player |
Team |
1B |
2B |
3B |
HR |
TB |
| 1922 |
Rogers Hornsby |
STL |
148 |
46 |
14 |
42 |
450 |
| 1930 |
Chuck Klein |
PHI |
143 |
59 |
8 |
40 |
445 |
| 1948 |
Stan Musial |
STL |
127 |
46 |
18 |
39 |
429 |
| 2001 |
Sammy Sosa |
CHI |
86 |
34 |
5 |
64 |
425 |
| 1930 |
Hack Wilson |
CHI |
111 |
35 |
6 |
56 |
423 |
| 1932 |
Chuck Klein |
PHI |
123 |
50 |
15 |
38 |
420 |
| 2001 |
Luis Gonzalez |
ARI |
98 |
36 |
7 |
57 |
419 |
| 1930 |
Babe Herman |
BKN |
147 |
48 |
11 |
35 |
416 |
| 1998 |
Sammy Sosa |
CHI |
112 |
20 |
0 |
66 |
416 |
| 2001 |
Barry Bonds |
SF |
49 |
32 |
2 |
73 |
411 |
| 1929 |
Rogers Hornsby |
CHI |
135 |
47 |
8 |
39 |
409 |
| 1997 |
Larry Walker |
COL |
109 |
46 |
4 |
49 |
409 |
| 1937 |
Joe Medwick |
STL |
140 |
56 |
10 |
31 |
406 |
| 1929 |
Chuck Klein |
PHI |
125 |
45 |
6 |
43 |
405 |
| 2000 |
Todd Helton |
COL |
113 |
59 |
2 |
42 |
405 |
| 2001 |
Todd Helton |
COL |
92 |
54 |
2 |
49 |
402 |
| 1959 |
Hank Aaron |
MIL |
131 |
46 |
7 |
39 |
400 |
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