Remembering Rogers Hornsby

Less than a year after serving as a coach for the inaugural New York Mets in 1962, Hall of Fame second baseman Rogers Hornsby passes away 61 years ago today of heart failure. He is 68.

Hornsby’s .359 career batting average remains the highest for any right-handed hitter in history and third only behind a pair of left-handers – fellow Hall of Famers Ty Cobb (.367) and Oscar Charleston (.365).

Hornsby spends all or parts of 23 seasons in the major leagues from 1915-37.

In his 14 core seasons – the ones from 1916-29 – Hornsby wins seven batting titles, two Triple Crowns, two Most Valuable Player awards and has three seasons in which his batting average tops .400.

His combination of on-base and slugging percentages tops 1.000 in eight of those 14 seasons with five of those coming in a row from 1921-25 with the St. Louis Cardinals.

“I don’t like to sound egotistical,” Hornsby says, “but every time I stepped up to the plate with a bat in my hands, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the pitcher.”