Bagwell is the only player in MLB history to have six consecutive seasons (1996–2001) with 30 home runs, 100 RBI, 100 runs scored, and 100 walks. He is also the sixth player in MLB history to have 300 home runs, 1,000 RBI, and 1,000 runs scored in his first ten seasons. The other five players to reach those milestones by their tenth season are Ted Williams, Barry Bonds, Jim Thome, Alex Rodriguez, and Hank Aaron.
Of the six players, only Bagwell has never been named to an All-Star Game. He was invited to his first game in 1997 but did not play due to injury.
Bagwell's career home run average of.542 is the highest among players who have reached 300 homers. The next highest is Mike Trout at.443. Both men played in more than 1,000 games before reaching 300 homers.
Bagwell also leads all major league hitters with 19 home runs this season. He is one homer away from becoming the first hitter since Rod Dedeaux in 1956 to hit 200 homers in a career.
Bagwell's career batting average of.462 is the highest among active players with 300 or more homers. The next highest is Aaron at.461.
Bagwell also leads all major league hitters with 102 RBI this season.
From 1991 through 1997, Thomas was the first player in major league history to have at least 100 walks, 100 runs, 100 runs batted in, and 20 home runs in seven consecutive seasons (from 1991 to 1997). The last time this had happened was before the invention of the.150 batting average in 1884 when George Wright had six straight years with.300 batting averages.
In 1998, Joe Thomas broke his right leg while making a catch in the outfield on a pitch thrown by Kevin Mitchell of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The injury ended his season and forced him to miss the entire 1999 season as well. After returning from his injuries in 2000, he continued to be one of the best defensive second basemen in baseball until he was traded to the Chicago White Sox in 2004. In 2005, after one season with the Chicago White Sox, Thomas announced his retirement from baseball due to bone spurs in his foot that prevented him from playing defense properly. He finished his career with the Cleveland Indians after eight seasons with them. In 2007, Thomas came out of retirement and signed with the Texas Rangers but was released before the start of the season.
During his seven-year stretch from 1991 to 1997, Thomas never had an annual salary over $500,000. However, in 1998, after breaking his leg, he received $3 million for one year from the Chicago White Sox.
He hit 34 and 24 home runs, respectively, making him the first and only player to hit at least fifty home runs in a season while playing for two clubs, as well as the first and only player to accomplish it while playing in both leagues. He did so in 1884 and 1888.
Besides his achievements on the field of play, George Wright is also famous for hitting the first home run in the history of baseball's Chicago White Stockings. The game was played on April 23, 1866 at Recreation Ground in Cleveland, Ohio, and the batter was none other than Wright himself.
Wright's total of fifty-four home runs still stands as the record for most home runs by a single player in a single season. However, this record is likely to be broken by several players in the coming years due to the increased scoring rate in modern baseball.
In conclusion, George Wright is one of the greatest hitters in baseball history because he was able to hit 50 home runs in two different seasons. Besides being a great hitter, he has also had a successful career as a manager/coach, which you will learn about below.