Another five-year period, another Willie.
That was the situation in the National League during the period from 1971 through 1975, the third half-decade in which I’ve analyzed the batters on both of the major leagues.
Willie Mays was the NL’s top hitter in the 1961-1965 period, based on my Five-Year Test, which ranks batters according to their performances in six statistical categories. His teammate on the San Francisco Giants, Willie McCovey, succeeded him as the league’s best hitter in the span from 1966 to 1970.
So who took the NL lead in 1971-1975? Willie Stargell, the slugging first baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Stargell paced the league in home runs twice during the half-decade, with 48 in 1971 and 44 in 1973. He didn’t win a Most Valuable Player Award — that wouldn’t happen until 1979 — but he did finish among the top 10 votegetters all five years. And he was one of only three hitters in the majors (all in the National League) to reach more than one base per out (BPO) over the 1971-1975 span.
Stargell’s counterpart in the American League was Reggie Jackson, the flamboyant right fielder for the Oakland Athletics, who won consecutive World Series in 1972, 1973, and 1974. Jackson powered their attack with 154 home runs, the most hit by any AL batter in the five-year period. (Stargell topped the majors with 172.)
My rankings encompassed every batter who crossed the minimum threshold of two appearances per game, the equivalent of 1,620 appearances in five seasons of the current length. The number of qualifiers was virtually the same in each league: 78 batters in the American and 79 in the National. They were compared in these statistical categories:
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Batting average
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Slugging average
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Bases per out
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Runs scored per 500 plate appearances
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Runs batted in per 500 plate appearances
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Wins above replacement (WAR) per 500 plate appearances
If you’d like to know more about how the Five-Year Test’s rankings were determined, click here. Or you can immediately scroll down to my lists of the top 20 batters in each league for 1971 through 1975.
The runners-up behind Jackson in my rankings of the American League’s best batters were Boston Red Sox catcher Carlton Fisk and Kansas City Royals first baseman John Mayberry. Second and third place in the National League went respectively to right fielder Henry Aaron of the Atlanta Braves and second baseman Joe Morgan of the Houston Astros and Cincinnati Reds.
Each player’s stats are confined to the specified league, thereby excluding the respective lines for Mayberry with the Astros in 1971 and Aaron with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1975. (Those were the days, don’t forget, when the Astros were in the NL and the Brewers belonged to the AL.)
Each batter below is followed by a summary of his 1971-1975 statistics: games, hits, home runs, batting average, and bases per out. The first three stats were not crunched by the Five-Year Test’s formula, though they do provide valuable context.
I’ll continue rolling out the half-decade rankings next Friday, when we’ll look at the top-rated hitters from 1976 through 1980. Here’s a hint: Neither of the league leaders was named Willie.
A new installment will arrive in your email each Tuesday and Friday morning
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1. Reggie Jackson, G 741, H 743, HR 154, BA .275, BPO .903
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2. Carlton Fisk, G 411, H 417, HR 71, BA .285, BPO .843
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3. John Mayberry, G 583, H 553, HR 107, BA .277, BPO .952
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4. Reggie Smith, G 405, H 429, HR 72, BA .284, BPO .875
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5. Bobby Murcer, G 615, H 699, HR 90, BA .299, BPO .841
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6. Rod Carew, G 734, H 960, HR 25, BA .340, BPO .834
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7. Frank Robinson, G 473, H 415, HR 89, BA .262, BPO .883
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8. George Scott, G 772, H 826, HR 121, BA .281, BPO .744
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9. Amos Otis, G 716, H 773, HR 73, BA .286, BPO .800
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10. Carl Yastrzemski, G 722, H 710, HR 75, BA .277, BPO .821
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11. Joe Rudi, G 678, H 740, HR 84, BA .284, BPO .719
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12. Boog Powell, G 626, H 542, HR 93, BA .267, BPO .822
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13. Bobby Grich, G 612, H 572, HR 57, BA .263, BPO .811
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14. Sal Bando, G 773, H 692, HR 105, BA .254, BPO .772
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15. Norm Cash, G 446, H 371, HR 80, BA .264, BPO .825
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16. Don Baylor, G 503, H 478, HR 57, BA .275, BPO .806
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17. Thurman Munson, G 713, H 737, HR 62, BA .284, BPO .691
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18. Gene Tenace, G 623, H 461, HR 91, BA .243, BPO .830
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19. Jeff Burroughs, G 536, H 500, HR 90, BA .262, BPO .780
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20. John Briggs, G 671, H 553, HR 87, BA .254, BPO .802
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1. Willie Stargell, G 691, H 741, HR 172, BA .297, BPO 1.024
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2. Henry Aaron, G 500, H 490, HR 141, BA .292, BPO 1.028
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3. Joe Morgan, G 761, H 790, HR 94, BA .290, BPO 1.056
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4. Bobby Bonds, G 618, H 667, HR 119, BA .272, BPO .891
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5. Cesar Cedeno, G 730, H 816, HR 96, BA .291, BPO .866
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6. Billy Williams, G 580, H 649, HR 101, BA .302, BPO .891
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7. Johnny Bench, G 750, H 744, HR 153, BA .265, BPO .822
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8. Mike Schmidt, G 465, H 379, HR 93, BA .248, BPO .923
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9. Tony Perez, G 740, H 789, HR 121, BA .282, BPO .796
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10. Pete Rose, G 799, H 1,015, HR 34, BA .310, BPO .790
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11. Darrell Evans, G 691, H 611, HR 119, BA .253, BPO .874
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12. Ted Simmons, G 755, H 883, HR 74, BA .304, BPO .739
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13. Bob Watson, G 716, H 798, HR 70, BA .307, BPO .779
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14. Al Oliver, G 743, H 890, HR 75, BA .297, BPO .714
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15. Lee May, G 595, H 618, HR 120, BA .275, BPO .753
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16. Gary Matthews, G 438, H 460, HR 44, BA .290, BPO .803
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17. Steve Garvey, G 607, H 646, HR 63, BA .298, BPO .714
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18. Richie Hebner, G 654, H 647, HR 94, BA .276, BPO .781
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19. Willie Davis, G 710, H 829, HR 63, BA .294, BPO .714
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20. Greg Luzinski, G 585, H 623, HR 91, BA .287, BPO .805
