That would be Pete Runnels, who came out on top in 1960 and 1962. Pete had also hit .310 in 1956, but it was Mickey Mantle winning his only batting title that year.
Oddly enough, Mickey hit a career-high .365 in 1957, only to lose the batting crowd to Ted Williams, who hit .388. The Splendid Splinter won his final batting title the next year, .328. Mantle was again in the hunt after a slow start, getting it all the way up to .308 on August 19th, before finishing at .304.
Neither Ted nor Mickey lead the league in batting average in 1959, however. Mickey hit .285, and Ted had his worst season, hitting just .254. But both would be back in different ways the next season.
For The Splendid Splinter, it was one last kick at the can. It was his last season. Williams was able to play in just 113 games. But he looked like the Williams of old. He got his average all the way up to .345 on July 7th. He was still at .326 on July 25th, and even .321 on August 10th. But try as he could, Ted wasn't going to beat his teammate.
Pete Runnels, was going great that year. He was hitting .406 on May 14th. Where have we all heard that number before? It was still .390 on June 9th. By August 10th, with Ted hanging on, Pete was at .307, 14 points back. However, going 9-11 in an August 30th doubleheader shot the average up to .324. Ted actually was ahead on September 25th, .318 to .317. Williams surrendered it with an 0-2 performance the next game. He hit a home run on September 28th, and it proved to be hit final hit. Runnels was the batting champion of the American League in 1960, .320 to Ted's .316.
Runnels was the champion again two years later over Mickey Mantle. It was actually the Oklahoma kid that had to do some scrambling. Mantle was actually bellow .300 on August 28th, .299. September proved to be a good month for him. But there was a problem. Going into the last game of the season, he was three plate appearances short of the 502 required to qualify for the batting crown. Mantle had missed 49 games that year. The Yankees needed Mantle to bat three times for the guarantee. Runnels had no such problem, having reached that on August 17th in the first game of a doubleheader. He had ended August at .338. The lowest it dropped was his final number, .326. Mantle's high for the month of September was .322 on September 26th.
So Mantle was in the leadoff position on September 30th, the last day of the season. He singled and scored in the bottom of the first, fanned in the second. In the fourth, he hit his 30th home run of the season. 502 plate appearances! Like Ted Williams in 1960, he went yard in his last plate appearance.
Jack Reed replaced Mantle in centre to start the fifth inning. The Mick had come up a little short. Pete Runnels could forever brag about topping two of baseball's all-time greats!
References
Golenbock, Peter. Dynasty: The New York Yankees, 1949-1964. Lincolnwood, IL: Contemporary, 2000. Print.
Golenbock, Peter. Red Sox Nation: An Unexpurgated History of the Boston Red Sox. Chicago, IL: Triumph Books, 2005. Print.
Linn, Edward. Hitter: The Life And Turmoils Of Ted Williams. Harcourt Brace & Co., 1993.
Mantle, Mickey, and Mickey Herskowitz. All My Octobers: My Memories of Twelve World Series When the Yankees Ruled Baseball. New York: HarperCollins, 1994. Print.
Oddly enough, Mickey hit a career-high .365 in 1957, only to lose the batting crowd to Ted Williams, who hit .388. The Splendid Splinter won his final batting title the next year, .328. Mantle was again in the hunt after a slow start, getting it all the way up to .308 on August 19th, before finishing at .304.
Neither Ted nor Mickey lead the league in batting average in 1959, however. Mickey hit .285, and Ted had his worst season, hitting just .254. But both would be back in different ways the next season.
For The Splendid Splinter, it was one last kick at the can. It was his last season. Williams was able to play in just 113 games. But he looked like the Williams of old. He got his average all the way up to .345 on July 7th. He was still at .326 on July 25th, and even .321 on August 10th. But try as he could, Ted wasn't going to beat his teammate.
Pete Runnels, was going great that year. He was hitting .406 on May 14th. Where have we all heard that number before? It was still .390 on June 9th. By August 10th, with Ted hanging on, Pete was at .307, 14 points back. However, going 9-11 in an August 30th doubleheader shot the average up to .324. Ted actually was ahead on September 25th, .318 to .317. Williams surrendered it with an 0-2 performance the next game. He hit a home run on September 28th, and it proved to be hit final hit. Runnels was the batting champion of the American League in 1960, .320 to Ted's .316.
Runnels was the champion again two years later over Mickey Mantle. It was actually the Oklahoma kid that had to do some scrambling. Mantle was actually bellow .300 on August 28th, .299. September proved to be a good month for him. But there was a problem. Going into the last game of the season, he was three plate appearances short of the 502 required to qualify for the batting crown. Mantle had missed 49 games that year. The Yankees needed Mantle to bat three times for the guarantee. Runnels had no such problem, having reached that on August 17th in the first game of a doubleheader. He had ended August at .338. The lowest it dropped was his final number, .326. Mantle's high for the month of September was .322 on September 26th.
So Mantle was in the leadoff position on September 30th, the last day of the season. He singled and scored in the bottom of the first, fanned in the second. In the fourth, he hit his 30th home run of the season. 502 plate appearances! Like Ted Williams in 1960, he went yard in his last plate appearance.
Jack Reed replaced Mantle in centre to start the fifth inning. The Mick had come up a little short. Pete Runnels could forever brag about topping two of baseball's all-time greats!
References
Gallagher,
Mark. Explosion!: Mickey Mantle's Legendary Home Runs. New York: Arbor
House, 1987. Print.
Golenbock, Peter. Dynasty: The New York Yankees, 1949-1964. Lincolnwood, IL: Contemporary, 2000. Print.
Golenbock, Peter. Red Sox Nation: An Unexpurgated History of the Boston Red Sox. Chicago, IL: Triumph Books, 2005. Print.
Mantle, Mickey, and Mickey Herskowitz. All My Octobers: My Memories of Twelve World Series When the Yankees Ruled Baseball. New York: HarperCollins, 1994. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major
League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/.
Web. 26 Nov. 2015
What were Runnels' power numbers in those two years? Where did he finish in mvp balloting?
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