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MLB Rankings: The most prolific Three True Outcomes hitters

By Damian Dydyn

OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 21: Adam Dunn #10 of the Oakland Athletics hits an rbi single scoring Coco Crisp #4 against the Philadelphia Phillies in the bottom of the first inning at O.co Coliseum on September 21, 2014 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 21: Adam Dunn #10 of the Oakland Athletics hits an rbi single scoring Coco Crisp #4 against the Philadelphia Phillies in the bottom of the first inning at O.co Coliseum on September 21, 2014 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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MLB Rankings
DENVER, CO – SEPTEMBER 30: Chris Carter #33 of the Milwaukee Brewers doubles against the Colorado Rockies during a game at Coors Field on September 30, 2016 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /

#4: Chris Carter – 50.33%

Chris Carter is an odd case. His .203/.299/.421 triple slash with 158 HR, 327 BB, 951 K put him 7th on the list of total TTO’s, but the delicate balance of a TTO hitter is hard to maintain. Carter leaned a little too heavy toward strikeouts while not having enough walks. He has the 2nd highest percentage of strikeouts against his total TTO’s on the list, while also having the 2nd lowest percentage of walks.

Like Chris Davis, Chris Carter appears to have seen his decline come on very quickly after a modest period of solid production. Breaking out in 2012 with a 137 wRC+, he followed that with a 112, 125, 105 and a 112 in 2016. He also hit 41 HR in 2016, but struggled to find a contract for the 2017 season. Carter eventually landed with the New York Yankees but played in only 62 games and finished the year with a 73 wRC+. He did not sign with another major league team over the winter.

The 6’4” right handed slugger went to the playoffs just once, an unexpected 2015 run by the Astros where he posted a respectable .929 OPS in 6 games. That included a HR in game 3 of the ALDS to put ahead 4-1. It was an insurance run that helped the Astros hold off the eventual World Series Champions for another day.

Chris Carter has played for 4 teams in his career. He debuted with the Athletics, then moved on to the Astros, Brewers and Yankees before signing a minor league contract with the Angels.

MLB Rankings
CINCINNATI – JULY 22: Adam Dunn #44 of the Washington Nationals is pictured during the game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on July 22, 2010 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

#3: Adam Dunn – 51.70%

Now we come to the top 3. While Adam Dunn would top the list for total TTO’s at 4,158, a mammoth 1,410 TTO’s ahead of second on the list, his percentage of TTO’s out of his total PA leaves him looking up at the last two names on the list. Dunn finished his career in 2014 with a triple slash of .237/.364/.490 including 462 HR, 1,317 BB, and 2,379 K. He is unquestionably the best hitter on this list.

Dunn likely didn’t do quite enough in his career to sneak into the Hall of Fame, but his case for enshrinement isn’t as crazy as you might think. He has the 141st highest career SLG, 42nd most career walks, 37th most HR, 176th most RBI’s, and the 11th best AB/HR rate. But he comes up short in most measures, failing to reach any of the magic numbers and not hitting any of the HoF trackers that Baseball Reference lists on their player pages.

The lumbering lefty has the second highest rate of walks as a percentage of total TTO’s on this list and the lowest rate of strikeouts. This is likely the driving force behind him having a much longer career and far better season to season numbers than anyone else in the top 10.

Adam Dunn spent the first seven and a half seasons of his career in Cincinnati, then finished 2008 in Arizona. He then played two seasons for the Nationals before signing with the Chicago White Sox and finishing his career in Oakland.

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