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contact hitter wikipedia jump to content main menu main menu move to sidebar hide navigation main page contents current events random article about wikipedia contact us contribute help learn to edit community portal recent changes upload file special pages search search appearance donate create account log in personal tools donate create account log in contents move to sidebar hide top 1 history 2 references toggle the table of contents contact hitter 2 languages polski português edit links article talk english read edit view history tools tools move to sidebar hide actions read edit view history general what links here related changes upload file permanent link page information cite this page get shortened url switch to legacy parser print export download as pdf printable version in other projects wikidata item appearance move to sidebar hide from wikipedia the free encyclopedia baseball hitter who does not strike out often ichiro suzuki was one of baseball s best contact hitters consistently among the al s leaders in at bats per strikeout 1 in baseball a contact hitter is a hitter who does not strike out often thus they are usually able to use their bat to make contact with the ball hence the name contact hitter to put it in play and then run fast to reach base as a result of their focus on putting the ball in play they usually have fewer home runs than power hitters but a higher babip tony gwynn is a leading example of a modern contact hitter with just 135 career home runs gwynn described himself as a contact hitter who could hit to all fields he rarely struck out just 434 times once every 21 at bats or once every 23 5 plate appearances and his goal was to put the ball in play and move baserunners over gwynn s success as a contact hitter landed him in the national baseball hall of fame rod carew is another example of a contact hitter who turned into a dominant mlb player notching 18 all star game appearances throughout his hall of fame career history edit one of the earliest known uses of the phrase contact hitter was in a 1966 bradenton herald report about manatee junior college players whitey whiten and mark sprunger 2 united press international possibly was the first news agency to record the term in reference to a major league baseball player as royals general manager cedric tallis gave recent acquisition lou piniella the title in a quote from a story that appeared in a 1969 edition of the tampa tribune 3 low strikeout and high batting average players have existed throughout the history of baseball but players first began to achieve stardom as contact hitters in the 1970s rod carew was one of the first contact hitter superstars of this era claiming the 1977 american league mvp with a 388 batting average for the minnesota twins in his 19 year career carew never finished a season with a batting average lower than 273 and never posted a strikeout percentage higher than 16 2 carew was selected as an all star for 18 consecutive seasons cementing him as a superstar of the game 4 other great contact hitters of the 1970s include joe morgan and all time hits leader pete rose contact hitters continued to be a key facet of the game through the 1980s this decade saw the rise of tony gwynn of the san diego padres considered by many to be the greatest contact hitter of baseball s modern era 5 6 gwynn never posted a batting average lower than 289 in his career never struck out more than 40 times in a season and never posted a strikeout percentage higher than 8 0 7 gwynn s 394 batting average in 1994 became legendary in the san diego area and was commemorated by alesmith brewing company s san diego 394 american pale ale 8 the 1980s featured other popular contact hitters such as paul molitor and george brett in the 1990s contact hitters began to experience a decline as featured superstars of the game due to the rise in popularity of power hitters and the increased usage of steroids in baseball to achieve record breaking home run statistics while sluggers like barry bonds mark mcgwire sammy sosa and ken griffey jr dominated the 1990s and partook in highly publicized races for home run titles a few contact hitters like wade boggs continued to contribute to their teams with less media popularity than previous contact hitters in pursuit of home runs players became less concerned about striking out the average team in 1975 struck out 4 98 times per game whereas the average rose to 6 30 by 1995 9 ichiro suzuki of the orix blue wave in nippon professional baseball established himself as a legendary contact hitter in japan in the 1990s he did not come to major league baseball until 2001 when suzuki signed with the seattle mariners in 2001 he made an instant impact as a superstar contact hitter he won both the al rookie of the year and the al mvp in his mlb rookie season suzuki was defiantly immune to striking out in an era where strikeouts were continually on the rise he never struck out more than 86 times and never posted a strikeout percentage higher than 17 7 1 accruing 3 000 mlb hits by 2016 and retiring as a player in 2019 suzuki is considered the most recent contact hitting superstar to play in major league baseball 10 11 in 2019 the average mlb team struck out 8 81 times per game an all time high in mlb history dating back to 1871 9 despite the growing acceptance of strikeouts the league still has many notable contact hitters such as michael brantley yuli gurriel jeff mcneil david fletcher and luis arraez references edit 1 2 baseball reference com ichiro suzuki retrieved october 23 2006 willey charles 9 september 1966 stevens hurling impresses wynn lancers drill the bradenton herald p 11 retrieved 17 february 2022 royals obtain lou piniella tampa florida the tampa tribune united press international 2 april 1969 p 27 retrieved 17 february 2022 rod carew stats baseball reference retrieved 18 february 2022 schell michael j 2019 tony gwynn meeting baseball s best hitter society for american baseball research retrieved 18 february 2022 thompson derek 16 june 2014 rip tony gwynn baseball s best hitter in the last 60 years the atlantic retrieved 18 february 2022 tony gwynn stats baseball reference retrieved 18 february 2022 san diego pale ale 394 baseball life retrieved 18 february 2022 1 2 major league batting year by year averages baseball reference retrieved 18 february 2022 waldstein david brad lefton 21 march 2019 at 45 ichiro suzuki concludes a pioneering career in japan new york times retrieved 18 february 2022 hirdt steve 1 october 2021 a superstar like no other an ode to the unique brilliance of ichiro the analyst retrieved 18 february 2022 v t e baseball positions pitchers by role starter ace opener reliever middle reliever long reliever setup man closer left handed specialist swingman by style power control ground ball fly ball switch defensive players by type pitcher catcher infielder outfielder utility player position player by number pitcher 1 p catcher 2 c first baseman 3 1b second baseman 4 2b third baseman 5 3b shortstop 6 ss left fielder 7 lf center fielder 8 cf right fielder 9 rf offensive players by role batter runner batting order 1 9 designated hitter pinch hitter pinch runner leadoff hitter cleanup hitter by style clutch hitter contact hitter power hitter switch hitter non players team roles manager coaches bullpen catcher executives president of baseball operations general manager other umpire official scorer bat boy ball boy girl related captain battery injured list phantom ballplayer platoon system v t e baseball and softball concepts outline glossary baseball rules cheating comparison of baseball and softball fastpitch softball 16 inch softball ejections ground rules infield fly rule in flight interference pitch clock protested game strike zone suspended game unwritten rules ballpark field backstop baseball diamond batter s box batter s eye bullpen dugout foul pole foul territory infield on deck circle outfield warning track equipment ball baseball rubbing mud bat batting cage batting glove batting helmet cap doughnut glove defense pitching machine protective cup shin guard stirrups uniform uniform number game process batting order challenges ball strike check swing innings extra innings out positions run pace of play batting at bat baltimore chop bat flip batted ball batting count batting out of order bunt sacrifice bunt squeeze play charging the mound checked swing cleanup hitter contact hitter designated hitter double double switch foul ball foul tip golden sombrero ground rule double hat trick hit hit and run hit by pitch hitting for the cycle home run grand slam inside the park walk off moonshot chinese infield hit leadoff hitter lefty righty switch line drive mendoza line on deck pinch hitter plate appearance platoon system power hitter pull hitter sacrifice fly single strikeout strike zone sweet spot switch hitter triple walk pitching softball balk beanball breaking ball brushback pitch changeup vulcan changeup curveball eephus emery ball fastball two seam four seam cutter sinker split finger full count immaculate inning inside pitching intentional balk intentional walk knuckleball maddux no hitter perfect game pickoff pitch count pitching by position players pitching position pitchout quick pitch screwball shutout slider spitball strikeout strike zone striking out the side switch pitcher time of pitch wild pitch base running automatic runner balk bases loaded caught stealing hit and run lead off left on base obstruction pinch runner rundown safe scoring position slide small ball squeeze play stolen base tag up tie goes to the runner fielding positioning appeal play assist blocking the plate catch caught stealing covering a base defensive indifference double play error fielder s choice fifth infielder force play fourth out hidden ball trick in between hop infield fly rule infield shift interference neighborhood play passed ball pickoff putout rundown tag out triple play unassisted uncaught third strike wall climb wheel play related baseball card baseball statistics bench jockey bench clearing brawl dead ball doubleheader jargon injured list list of baseball films night game old timers day pepper scorekeeping series seventh inning stretch shagging sign stealing slump streak losing winning variations of baseball vintage base ball category portal wikiproject retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title contact_hitter oldid 1354780294 categories batting baseball baseball terminology hidden categories articles with short description short description matches wikidata this page was last edited on 18 may 2026 at 05 31 utc page was rendered with parsoid text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike 4 0 license additional terms may apply by using this site you agree to the terms of use and privacy policy wikipedia is a registered trademark of the wikimedia foundation inc a non profit organization privacy policy about wikipedia 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