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MLB all-time: Top 10 Greatest DH Seasons of All Time, Part 2

By Manny Gómez

ST LOUIS, MO - OCTOBER 28: David Ortiz #34 of the Boston Red Sox hits an RBI double scoring Dustin Pedroia #15 in the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals during Game Five of the 2013 World Series at Busch Stadium on October 28, 2013 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
ST LOUIS, MO - OCTOBER 28: David Ortiz #34 of the Boston Red Sox hits an RBI double scoring Dustin Pedroia #15 in the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals during Game Five of the 2013 World Series at Busch Stadium on October 28, 2013 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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SEATTLE, WA – JUNE 22: Hitting coach Edgar Martinez #11 of the Seattle Mariners watches Mark Trumbo #35 take early batting practice prior to the game against the Kansas City Royals at Safeco Field on June 22, 2015 in Seattle, Washington. Martinez replaced Howard Johnson on Saturday. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images) /

In Part 1 of this post, we announced the 10 – 6 ranked greatest DH seasons of MLB all-time. It’s time to reveal the top 5 greatest seasons for a DH of all time.

On April 6, 1973, before stepping up to the batters box against the Boston Red Sox in Fenway Park, Ron Blomberg, who is far from being consider one of the greatest designated hitters of MLB all-time, sought the advice of Yankees veteran Elston Howard.  It was the first time a designated hitter (DH) would be used in a baseball game. Howard’s advice to Blomberg, according to Baseball A History of America’s Favorite Game, “Go hit and then sit down.”

That just about sums it up.

That is why, as stated in Part 1 of this post, we used the following SIX criteria to determine who had the greatest season for a DH of all time:

  1. Must have been DH 51% of games that season
  2. Ability to get on base – On Base Percentage (OBP)
  3. Ability to hit for power – Slugging Percentage (SLG)
  4. Ability to score runs – Runs Scored (RS)
  5. Ability to create runs – Weighted Runs Created Plus (WRC+)
  6. Value in wins – FanGraphs Wins Above Replacement (fWAR)

As Howard said to Blomberg, a DH’s primary job is to hit. Therefore, I chose the aforementioned criteria because it best reflects a hitters ability to get on base and hit for extra bases, thereby creating and scoring runs.

Without further ado, here are the top five seasons for a DH of all time.

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