Hack Wilson in 1930 led NL in HR, RBI but his .356 BA was 10th.

Hack Wilson still holds the season record for Runs Batted In (RBI) with 191 in 1930.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/RBI_season.shtml

Rank	Player (age that year)	Runs Batted In	Year	PA	Bats
1.	Hack Wilson+ (30)	191	1930	709	R
2.	Lou Gehrig+ (28)	185	1931	738	L
3.	Hank Greenberg+ (26)	184	1937	701	R
4.	Jimmie Foxx+ (30)	175	1938	685	R
5.	Lou Gehrig+ (24)	173	1927	717	L
	Lou Gehrig+ (27)	173	1930	703	L
7.	Chuck Klein+ (25)	170	1930	722	L
8.	Jimmie Foxx+ (24)	169	1932	702	R
9.	Hank Greenberg+ (24)	168	1935	710	R
	Babe Ruth+ (26)	168	1921	693	L
11.	Joe DiMaggio+ (22)	167	1937	692	R
12.	Lou Gehrig+ (31)	166	1934	690	L

Ten of the top 12 were in the 1930s and the other two were in the 1920s.

Hack Wilson's 56 Home Runs (HR) in 1930 was the National League record until Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa both broke it in 1998 with 70 and 66 respectively.

In 1930 Hack Wilson led the NL in HR and RBI:

https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/NL/1930-batting-leaders.shtml

Home Runs

1.	Wilson • CHC	56
2.	Klein • PHI	40
3.	Berger • BSN	38
4.	Hartnett • CHC	37
5.	Herman • BRO	35
6.	Hafey • STL	26
7.	Ott • NYG	25
8.	Terry • NYG	23
9.	Wright • BRO	22
	Lindstrom • NYG	22
	O'Doul • PHI	22

Runs Batted In

1.	Wilson • CHC	191
2.	Klein • PHI	170
3.	Cuyler • CHC	134
4.	Herman • BRO	130
5.	Terry • NYG	129
6.	Wright • BRO	126
7.	Hartnett • CHC	122
8.	Berger • BSN	119
	Ott • NYG	119
	Comorosky • PIT	119
	Traynor • PIT	119

But Wilson did not lead NL in Batting Average (BA) in 1930:

Batting Average

1.	Terry • NYG	.401
2.	Herman • BRO	.393
3.	Klein • PHI	.386
4.	O'Doul • PHI	.383
5.	Lindstrom • NYG	.379
6.	Watkins • STL	.373
7.	Waner • PIT	.368
8.	Stephenson • CHC	.367
9.	Traynor • PIT	.366
10.	Wilson • CHC	.356

Hack Wilson .356 BA was 10th. 10th!

Bill Terry (.401) and Carl Yastrzemski (.301): BA leaders revisited with percent above league.  Saturday, May 10, 2025

In 1930 NL BA was .303.  In 1968 AL BA was .230.

Terry: (.401 - .303) / .303 = 0.323432343 - 32% above NL BA

Yastrzemski: (.301 - .230) / .230 = 0.308695652 - 31% above AL BA

Terry but not by nearly as much as you might expect.

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https://stathead.com/tiny/1Za2q

For single seasons, in 1930, Playing in the NL, Qualified for league batting title, in the regular season, requiring Batting Average >= .300, sorted by descending Batting Average.

In 1930 43 (11 had fewer than 483 PA; qualifying in 1930: at least 100 games) NL batters had BA at least .300 and the NL had only 8 teams, not the 15 it has in 2025.

One .300 Batting Average in a league: AL 1968, NL 2025.  Sunday, September 28, 2025

... in 2025 we have one .300 BA in NL and only six in the AL. But four with 50 HR, two in each league...

https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/NL/2025-batting-leaders.shtml

Batting Average

1.	Turner • PHI	.304
2.	Hoerner • CHC	.297
3.	Freeman • LAD	.294
4.	Arráez • SDP	.292
5.	Perdomo • ARI	.291
6.	Frelick • MIL	.290
7.	Burleson • STL	.290
8.	Turang • MIL	.287
9.	Bohm • PHI	.287
	Donovan • STL	.287

I think the players are better than ever in 2025 but the game isn't. It's amazing the batters can hit the ball at all with all the velocity pitchers have. But it's supposed to be about fielding and base running, not SO and HR trots.

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https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/2025-batting-leaders.shtml

Home Runs

1.	Raleigh • SEA	60
2.	Schwarber • PHI	56
3.	Ohtani • LAD	55
4.	Judge • NYY	53
5.	Suárez • 2TM	49
6.	Caminero • TBR	45
7.	Soto • NYM	43
8.	Alonso • NYM	38
9.	Adell • LAA	37
10.	Kurtz • ATH	36
	Greene • DET	36
	Ward • LAA	36

2025 AB/HR for HR >= 30. Was Cal Raleigh the Home Run king?  Monday, September 29, 2025