Highest Career Batting Average in MLB History: All-Time Leaders

Career

Includes the 2026 season through September 9, 2026

As of September 9, 2026, the all-time leader in Batting Average is Ty Cobb with .366. Rogers Hornsby is second with .358 and Shoeless Joe Jackson is third with .356. This page ranks the top 100 players in Batting Average.

AVG (Batting Average):
Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.

Data updated

Ty Cobb holds the all-time MLB career batting average record with a .366 batting average, ahead of Rogers Hornsby (.358) and Shoeless Joe Jackson (.356).

Rankings cover the top 100 qualifying players (a minimum of 3,000 career at-bats).

Top 10 AVG

Career. Click a bar to view the player.

Highest Career Batting Average in MLB History: All-Time Leaders
Rank Player AVG Trend
1 Ty Cobb .366
2 Rogers Hornsby .358
3 Shoeless Joe Jackson .356
4 Lefty O'Doul .349
5 Ed Delahanty .346
6 Tris Speaker .345
T-7 Billy Hamilton .344
T-7 Ted Williams .344
T-9 Dan Brouthers .342
T-9 Harry Heilmann .342
T-9 Dave Orr .342
T-9 Babe Ruth .342
T-13 Pete Browning .341
T-13 Willie Keeler .341
T-13 Bill Terry .341
T-16 Lou Gehrig .340
T-16 George Sisler .340
T-18 Jesse Burkett .338
T-18 Tony Gwynn .338
T-18 Nap Lajoie .338
T-18 Jake Stenzel .338
22 Riggs Stephenson .336
T-23 John McGraw .334
T-23 Al Simmons .334
T-25 Eddie Collins .333
T-25 Mike Donlin .333
T-25 Paul Waner .333
T-28 Cap Anson .331
T-28 Stan Musial .331
T-28 Sam Thompson .331
T-31 Bill Lange .330
T-31 Heinie Manush .330
T-33 Wade Boggs .328
T-33 Rod Carew .328
T-33 Honus Wagner .328
T-36 Hugh Duffy .326
T-36 Tip O'Neill .326
T-38 Earle Combs .325
T-38 Joe DiMaggio .325
T-38 Bob Fothergill .325
T-38 Jimmie Foxx .325
T-42 Babe Herman .324
T-42 Joe Medwick .324
44 Edd Roush .323
T-45 Sam Rice .322
T-45 Ross Youngs .322
47 Kiki Cuyler .321
T-48 Mickey Cochrane .320
T-48 Charlie Gehringer .320
T-48 Chuck Klein .320
T-48 Pie Traynor .320
52 Ken Williams .319
T-53 Earl Averill .318
T-53 Vladimir Guerrero .318
T-53 Kirby Puckett .318
T-53 Arky Vaughan .318
T-57 Luis Arraez .317
T-57 Roberto Clemente .317
T-57 Chick Hafey .317
T-57 Joe Harris .317
T-57 Joe Kelley .317
T-57 Zack Wheat .317
T-63 Roger Connor .316
T-63 Lew Fonseca .316
T-63 Frankie Frisch .316
T-63 Goose Goslin .316
T-63 Todd Helton .316
T-63 George Van Haltren .316
T-63 Lloyd Waner .316
T-70 Bibb Falk .314
T-70 Cecil Travis .314
T-72 Bill Dickey .313
T-72 Elmer Flick .313
T-72 Jack Fournier .313
T-72 Nomar Garciaparra .313
T-72 Hank Greenberg .313
T-72 Larry Walker .313
T-78 Fred Clarke .312
T-78 Bug Holliday .312
T-78 Hughie Jennings .312
T-78 Edgar Martinez .312
T-78 Barney McCosky .312
T-78 Dale Mitchell .312
T-78 Johnny Mize .312
T-78 Manny Ramirez .312
T-78 Joe Sewell .312
T-87 Ginger Beaumont .311
T-87 Baby Doll Jacobson .311
T-87 Benny Kauff .311
T-87 Freddie Lindstrom .311
T-87 Bing Miller .311
T-87 Rip Radcliff .311
T-87 Jackie Robinson .311
T-87 Ichiro Suzuki .311
T-87 Mike Tiernan .311
T-87 Taffy Wright .311
T-97 Luke Appling .310
T-97 Jim Bottomley .310
T-97 Derek Jeter .310
T-97 Denny Lyons .310

Frequently Asked Questions

Who has the highest career batting average (a minimum of 3,000 career at-bats)?
Ty Cobb — a .366 batting average, among qualifying players (a minimum of 3,000 career at-bats). Next are Rogers Hornsby (.358) and Shoeless Joe Jackson (.356).
What was Ty Cobb's career batting average?
Ty Cobb posted a .366 batting average — the highest mark on this leaderboard.
Who else ranks in the top 5 for career batting average?
1. Ty Cobb (.366); 2. Rogers Hornsby (.358); 3. Shoeless Joe Jackson (.356); 4. Lefty O'Doul (.349); 5. Ed Delahanty (.346).
Who qualifies for this Batting Average leaderboard?
This leaderboard ranks qualifying players (a minimum of 3,000 career at-bats), showing the top 100. Ty Cobb leads with a .366 batting average.