The player with the 3rd highest single-season batting average of the modern era is the 66th inductee into the Baseball Hall of Immortals.
A few years before Babe Ruth made the transition from pitcher to everyday player, there was George Sisler. Pitching for the St. Louis Browns in 1915, Sisler showed such adeptness with the bat he was quickly converted to the Browns everyday first-baseman. Sisler would go on to post a .300 or better batting average for the next severm years, topping .400 twice – .407 in 1920 and .420 in 1922, when he would also win the MVP.
Sisler would miss the 1923 season due to a sinus infection that impacted his vision. While he would come back in 1924, he was never the same hitter.
Sisler played for 15 years, hanging it up after the 1930 season with more than 2,800 hist and a lifetime batting avergae of .340 (16th best all-time)
A remarkable pure hitter, George Sisler is truly an Immortal.
For some background on what this is, check out the introduction post here.
