MLB: Five Hilariously Absurd Stats to Brighten Your Day

Five Hilariously Absurd Stats to Brighten Your Day

Eddie Murray’s invisible batting title

Even though batting average is becoming a less valuable statistic in the modern era, winning a batting title is still a coveted accomplishment. In 1990, the race for the NL batting title took the most obscure turns in the history of the sport.

Here’s what happened:

Willie McGee was one of the league’s premier leadoff hitters. Coming into the 1990 season, he was a four-time All-Star and 1985 NL MVP in the middle of his prime. He continued his excellent contact hitting, posting a .335 average in 125 games with the Cardinals.

But this is where it gets weird. By late August, the Cardinals were sitting a the bottom of the NL, and looked to rebuild. Thus, they traded McGee and his expiring contract to the Oakland Athletics for three minor leaguers. McGee helped contribute to the A’s pennant run, but ended up lowering his full season average to .324.

However, his 501 NL at bats qualified him for the NL batting title, locking in his .335 once he departed for Oakland. This is where Eddie Murray comes into the picture. Murray was a superstar in his own right. He was seven-time All-Star in his twelve seasons with the Orioles, and a key part of their 1983 championship run.

Now, Murray was 34, and in his second season with the Dodgers. He was in the midst of one of his best seasons, and in pursuit of his first batting title. At the end of the season, he finished with a league-leading .330 batting average. It was six points higher than McGee’s, and 1 higher than George Brett’s AL-leading .329 mark.

However, because of McGee’s qualification, he won the batting title over Murray. As a result, Murray became the only player ever to lead the league in batting average and fail to win a batting title. Murray will likely remain the only to ever accomplish this agonizing feat, as the MLB eliminated the August 31st trade waiver deadline that allowed McGee to be shipped to the A’s so late into the season.

At the end of the day, Eddie Murray had the last laugh over McGee, as he received a Hall of Fame induction in 2003. McGee, who won an MVP and stole the 1990 NL batting title from Murray, but fell off the Hall of Fame ballot in 2006.