1930

The 1930 Major League baseball season was both marvelous and horrendous, great for hitters, embarrassing for pitchers. In totality it was just this side of insane as an outlier among all seasons. Major League Baseball began with the founding of the National League in 1876. In the 145 seasons since then, one season stands out as unique for the astounding nature of hitting: 1930. A flipside of 1968’s “Year of the Pitcher,” when the great St. Louis Cardinals Bob Gibson compiled a 1.12 earned run average and Detroit Tigers Denny McLain won 31 games, the 1930 season was when the batters reigned supreme. During this incredible season, more than one hundred players batted .300, the entire National League averaged .300, ten players hit 30 or more home runs, and some of the greatest individual performances established all-time records. From New York Giants Bill Terry’s .401 average—the last National Leaguer to hit over .400—to the NL-record 56 home runs and major league–record 192 runs batted i