Hall of Fame pitcher Walter Johnson hit .433 in 1925. 2-1 in World Series. Jack Bentley, another pitcher, was next .400 hitter in Hits.

Walter Johnson

Position: Pitcher

Bats: Right  •  Throws: Right

6-1, 200lb (185cm, 90kg)

Born: November 6, 1887 in Humboldt, KS us

Died: December 10, 1946 (Aged 59-034d) in Washington, DC

In 1957 Bob Hazle hit .403: 54 for 134. Fewest hits (>=50) and .400 BA.  Sunday, June 14, 2026

Another way of putting it: most Hits for a non qualifier.

______________________________

So were there any significant .400 BA with fewer than 50 Hits?

https://www.sports-reference.com/stathead/tiny/2KZIl

For single seasons, since 1903, Playing in the AL or NL, in the regular season, requiring Batting Average >= .400 and Hits >= 40 and Hits <= 49, sorted by descending Hits.

Rk	Player	H	BA	Season	Age	Team	Lg	G	PA	AB	R	1B	2B	3B	HR	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
1	Walter Johnson	42	.433	1925	37	WSH	AL	36	107	97	12	33	6	1	2	.433	.455	.577	1.033	163

Provided by Stathead: Found with Stathead. See Full Results.
Generated 6/15/2026.

That's the entire list. One guy and he's a Hall of Fame pitcher.

In the 1925 World Series against Pittsburgh, Walter Johnson pitched 3 complete games: 1,4, 7. He won games 1 and 4 allowing only one run but lost game seven 9-7; only 5 of the 9 runs were earned. Batting, the .433 hitter had only a single in 11 AB.

Just for the heck of it, let's cut the Hits requirement in half.

https://www.sports-reference.com/stathead/tiny/64ZcS

For single seasons, since 1903, Playing in the AL or NL, in the regular season, requiring Hits >= 20 and Hits <= 39 and Batting Average >= .400, sorted by descending Hits.

Rk	Player	H	BA	Season	Age	Team	Lg	G	PA	AB	R	1B	2B	3B	HR	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
1	Jack Bentley	38	.427	1923	28	NYG	NL	52	94	89	9	29	6	2	1	.427	.446	.573	1.019	167
2	Ted Williams	37	.407	1953	34	BOS	AL	37	110	91	17	18	6	0	13	.407	.509	.901	1.410	268
3	Maurice Archdeacon	35	.402	1923	24	CHW	AL	22	94	87	23	29	5	1	0	.402	.441	.483	.924	145
4	Mike Davis	30	.400	1982	23	OAK	AL	23	77	75	12	25	4	0	1	.400	.416	.493	.909	156
5	Todd Haney	30	.411	1995	29	CHC	NL	25	81	73	11	20	8	0	2	.411	.463	.603	1.065	183
6	Phil Clark	22	.407	1992	24	DET	AL	23	61	54	3	17	4	0	1	.407	.467	.537	1.004	182
7	Liván Soto	22	.400	2022	22	LAA	AL	18	59	55	9	15	5	1	1	.400	.414	.582	.996	179
8	Craig Wilson	22	.468	1998	27	CHW	AL	13	53	47	14	14	5	0	3	.468	.490	.766	1.256	225
9	Gil Coan	21	.500	1947	25	WSH	AL	11	47	42	5	16	3	2	0	.500	.553	.667	1.220	243
10	Duke Farrell	21	.404	1903	36	BOS	AL	17	63	52	5	15	5	1	0	.404	.466	.538	1.004	194
11	Babe Ganzel	21	.438	1927	26	WSH	AL	13	59	48	7	14	4	2	1	.438	.509	.667	1.176	206
12	Rudy Pemberton	21	.512	1996	26	BOS	AL	13	45	41	11	12	8	0	1	.512	.556	.780	1.336	233
13	Elmer Valo	21	.420	1941	20	PHA	AL	15	54	50	13	18	0	1	2	.420	.463	.580	1.043	178
14	Stan Musial	20	.426	1941	20	STL	NL	12	49	47	8	15	4	0	1	.426	.449	.574	1.023	179

Provided by Stathead: Found with Stathead. See Full Results.
Generated 6/15/2026.

Note Hall of Fame hitters Williams and Musial.

Coan and Pemberton: .500 BA.

#1 Jack Bentley was a pitcher and first baseman. In 1923 he threw 183 innings for the pennant winning Giants in 31 games (27 starts): 13-8. Bentley had his .427 BA exclusively as a pitcher and pinch hitter:

I	Split	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
I	as P	25	69	65	7	27	4	1	0	7	0	0	2	2	.415	.420	.508	.928
I	as PH	20	20	19	2	8	2	1	1	5	0	0	1	2	.421	.450	.789	1.239

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Generated 6/15/2026. 

In at least two games Bentley started but left before batting. In one game,15 inning 13-12 loss in St. Louis, he PH in top 8th and remained to pitch one inning but had only one PA; ironically Bentley was removed for a righty PH, Frank Snyder, who singled to SS. Bentley batted lefty and the Cardinals brought in lefty pitcher Bill Sherdel to face him. Wow, platooning in 1923. Playing CF for the Giants and batting 5th (2 for 7): Casey Stengel, who made platooning famous managing the Yankees 1949-1960: 10 pennants, 7 WS wins.

The Yankees won their first World Series in 1923, beating the Giants 4-2. Bentley pitched in 2 WS games, both losses:

2: no decision; 5 innings in relief, 1 run and 1 for 2 batting, double off Pennock

5: losing pitcher; started: 1.33 innings, 7 Runs, 6 ER, 3 run HR to Joe Dugan. Did not bat.