3. & 2. Hank Aaron (1959 & 1971)
Hank Aaron occupies seven of the top 21 spots on the list. Hammerin’ Hank earned the second spot in 1971 and the third spot in 1959. Hank may not be the all-time home run leader anymore but he still holds the record for most runs batted in (2,297) and total bases (6,856). He played for 23 years and was an All-Star in 21 of those years and finished with 25 All-Star appearances. That’s not a typo.
Of all the greatness inside of his career .555 slugging percentage over 23 years, a part of his 155 OPS+ over 3,298 games and 13,941 plate appearances, inside of the majesty that is Henry Aaron is his 1971 season. At age 37 he played 139 games and clobbered 47 homers in just 495 at-bats. He finished the season with a .327 average, a .410 on-base percentage, and a Major League-leading .669 slugging percentage.
.669 is also good for a solid second place in franchise history. It’s a full .033 higher than his third-place season in 1959 and .036 higher than Chipper Jones’ fourth-best season in 1999 when he posted a .633 and earned an MVP.
Henry Aaron’s career .555 slugging percentage is the 20th best in the history of Major League Baseball history.
I know on the last page I compared Chipper Jones’ RBI total to Hank Aaron’s, but that wasn’t to diminish Chipper’s accomplishments but to highlight how incredible Hank Aaron’s longevity was. Only he and Babe Ruth have ever surpassed the 2,200 RBI mark. No other player has even reached 2,100.
The final and greatest slugging season of all time includes a stadium on fire and it has nothing to do with Fred McGriff.