Considering era, park, Gwynn was the best

• Article
• Comments ()
• Click-2-Listen
• Videos

By

Tony Gwynn is the best hitter for average of all time.

That declarative statement is courtesy of Michael J. Schell, a professor of biostatistics at the University of North Carolina and author of "Baseball's All-Time Best Hitters: How Statistics Can Level the Playing Field" (1999).

Traditionally, Ty Cobb has held the title of the best hitter for average. His .366 career batting average is the best of all time.

Gwynn, who was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame yesterday for his eight batting titles and 3,141 hits with the San Diego Padres, hit .338 — 17th among players with 4,000 at-bats.

Schell closes that gap and then some with four adjustments.

He eliminates the decline phase of long careers, using only a player's first 8,000 at-bats.

Cobb's average improves to .370. Gwynn's improves to .340.

Schell adjusts for playing in different eras, using the mean batting average of a season.

Cobb remains at .370. Gwynn's moves down to .338, but he moves up to seventh place, with other hitters being adjusted down.

The third variable is the talent pool of an era — how hard was it to dominate, integration, expansion, the designated hitter.