Thursday trivia time again, and this week I'm posting questions
regarding players who posted the lowest batting average in a season
during the decade.
Now please note: only QUALIFIERS are counted here. So they had to
meet the minimum plate appearance requirement to be included among the
answers here.
Some really surprising findings when researching this!
Good luck! Answers posted tomorrow…
- Who was the only qualifying batter to post a sub-.200 batting average in a season during the decade?
- Among all "Low Batting Average" leaders of the decade, one was actually a future Hall of Famer, posting the lowest batting average one year, at .211. Who was it?
- The only player to post the Major's lowest batting average in a season more than once during the 1970's was actually a guy who was an all-star starter once, and garnered MVP votes two years in a row. Who was it?
- This player actually led the Major Leagues not only with the lowest qualifying batting average, but also the MOST walks in the same season! Who was it?
- In addition to Tenace in 1974, this player was the only other to post the lowest batting average in the Majors among qualifiers while being a starter on a World Champion team the same year. Who was it?
1. Jim Sundberg, Rangers. He hit .199 in 1975.
2. Ozzie Smith, Padres. He hit .211 in 1979.
3. Gene Tenace, A's and Padres. He posted the lowest average in 1974 while with the A's (.211), and 1978 while with the Padres (.224).
4. Jimmy Wynn, Braves. He walked 127 times in addition to his MLB low .207 average (Note: Gene Tenace led the A.L. In walks his "low" year of 1974).
5. Mark Belanger, Orioles. He hit .218 in 1970, lowest among all qualifiers, while winning it all.