Some of the greatest baseball players of all time have achieved great moments in their career. Whether it’s hitting over .300 their entire career or even winning multiple Cy Young awards, these players were seen as some of the greatest players of all time, to even being voted in and honored as Hall of Famers. However not everyone gets to have long careers that span over 15 plus seasons. In some cases these ball players can have one great season and then their careers take a downward spiral. Usually this would be known as “What Could’ve Been” players but these ball players are more known as “One Hit Wonders”. Not every player in baseball will go on to the Hall of Fame or even have a lengthy career. These players had one incredible season but unfortunately they couldn’t maintain a high level performance soon after their huge performing season. This week I will be talking about and ranking 10 professional baseball players that had only one great/incredible year in their career. I have watched many names come and go from the sport and I have learned a lot about these “One Hit Wonders”. Comment below a One Hit Wonder I may have missed and let’s go right into the list and countdown the Top 10 MLB One Hit Wonders of All Time.
Top 10 MLB One Hit Wonders of All Time
10. Ryan Ludwick (2008 with the St. Louis Cardinals) – Ryan Ludwick had a pretty lengthy career in the Majors, 12 years with 6 different teams. 2008 was a breakout season for Ludwick as not only did he win a Silver Slugger and make the All-Star team, he finished 14th in NL MVP voting. However what really puts him on this list is how he performed as he played just as great as one of the greatest clutch bats of the 21st Century, Albert Pujols. Ludwick in 2008 hit .299 with a On Base Percentage of .375 and a Slugging Percentage of .591 while hitting 37 homeruns and bringing in 113 RBI’s. Now in all fairness Pujols pretty much won the NL MVP, but for Ludwick to play in the same level as the NL MVP then yeah you can consider this to be a breakout season. Now after this season Ludwick wasn’t the same clutch power bat. He was averaging anywhere from 15 -20 homeruns when he was on the field but he was never able to touch the season he had back in 2008. It’s pretty strange really as Ludwick was able to put on a show in 2008 next to Pujols. But to not put on another performance like this is even more shocking considering he had one hell of a breakout year. Ludwick’s final season in the Majors was in 2014 and he ended up retiring in 2016. It’s a shame we never got to see the same clutch batter like we did in 2008. Had we saw the same player who clutched 37 bombs in 2008 then we could have seen the next big clutch bat in baseball, at least from 2009 – the mid 2010’s. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbH-QF7KLsA
9. Kevin Maas (1990 with the New York Yankees) – The Yankees have had a lot of talented names come and go but the one name in Yankees history that every Yankee fan thinks of when bringing up “One Hit Wonders” is Kevin Maas. The 1990 season was not very memorable for the Yankees as they both played very shit and had probably one of the worst lineups in baseball. However one positive thing to come out of the worst Yankee team ever in Yankees history is rookie sensation Kevin Maas. Maas made his debut in June 29th, 1990 and from there a Yankee legend was born, sort of. While he is defiantly no legend, his rookie season is remembered for the fact that he hit 10 homeruns in just his first 72 at bats and he was setting records with being the fastest rookie to hit 15 homeruns in just 133 at bats. He finished the year with 21 homeruns and had a Slugging Percentage of .535 with an .OPS above .900. Now while this isn’t the most legendary rookie season of all time, it is however a pretty big memorable year for a rookie Yankee considering he was the most clutch bat on the team and only played a total of 79 games. Shockingly Maas finished 2nd in AL Rookie of the Year voting. Maas’ career took a huge turn soon after the 1990 season as his bat wasn’t as clutch anymore and he was constantly being sent back down to the Minors and sent back up to the Majors. Maas’ career ended after the 1995 season and many people to this day wonder what could’ve been. It’s a shame really as many people considered him to be the next Don Mattingly for the New York Yankees. Unfortunately Maas never had the great glove and would later have an okay bat, but that 1990 season really made us believe that he was the future of the Yankees and even in baseball. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuxZUrLe34o
8. Bernard Gilkey (1996 with the New York Mets) – You are probably asking yourself who Bernard Gilkey is and I was too. Bernard Gilkey is a 12 year veteran who had a few decent seasons but one huge incredible season where he legit looked like a beast. Gilkey made a name for himself in St. Louis before he was traded to the New York Mets in 1996. It was that same year where Gilkey had his strongest season ever in his career. Gilkey batted .317 while slugging out 30 homeruns and brining in 117 runs. Not only that but he led the team with 44 doubles and almost had an On Base Percentage of .400. Gilkey finished 14th in the NL MVP voting and it’s a shame that nobody really remembers or knows about this dominant season. Now while players like Barry Bonds, Mike Piazza and 1996 NL MVP Ken Caminiti put on better stats, Gilkey was able to be seen as an MVP candidate. However 1996 would be the only time where Gilkey was seen as a threat at the plate as his offensive numbers plummeted and soon his playing time would decline. It’s a shame really as Gilkey was able to kind of show some true star potential in 1996 and hell he was hitting as great as Barry Bonds and future Hall of Famers Chipper Jones, Mike Piazza and Jeff Bagwell. Unfortunately Gilkey just couldn’t bring that 1996 form into the rest of his career. He retired after the 2001 season and became one of those players you forgot had a dominating season, hence why he is on this list.
7. Bob Hamelin (1994 with the Kansas City Royals) - The 1994 season is infamously known for being the season that was cut short due to the MLB strike. However our next entry on this list put on some great numbers in his rookie season, but you can just imagine if he played a full year without their being a stoppage to the season. In his first full season in the Major Leagues, Hamelin became a slugging machine as he launched 24 homeuns behind the outfield wall and he also hit 25 doubles and had a Slugging Percentage of .599. Had the season not end because of a strike we could had seen Hamelin hit almost 35 to 40 homeruns, it’s not one hundred percent certain but it could have been a possibility had there been a full season. Hamelin ended up winning the AL Rookie of the Year in 1994, beating out a future star in the making and one of the most clutch bats in baseball history, Manny Ramirez. Hamelin however would struggle the next couple of seasons with the Royals as he never hit anywhere above 9 homeruns, let alone double digits. In fact he had a decent season with the Tigers in 1997 but it wasn’t as impressive as his Rookie of the Year winning season. Hamelin quit baseball entirely after the 1999 season and his name is one of those names that we look back at and wonder of what could’ve been. He had a pretty decent power swing and but he struggled with everything else in his career. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5PDrBLev6U
6. Rick Ankiel (2000 with the St. Louis Cardinals) – The story of Rick Ankiel is pretty tragic considering he was one of the top young stars in the Minor Leagues in 1999. We got to see how good he was in the 1999 season but the 2000 season was where we saw how incredible of a pitcher Ankiel was. Ankiel was only 20 years old and was pitching like he was a 7 year veteran in the Majors. While he didn’t have the most dominating stats, he did have an impressive 11-7 record with a 3.50 ERA while striking out 194 batters. He came in 2nd place in the NL Rookie of the Year voting but while the 2000 season might have been his breakout season, the 2000 postseason became his downfall. The 3rd inning of a playoff game between the Cardinals and the Braves became the biggest downfall for any future breakout star. Ankiel started the game pitching fine but once the 3rd inning began he lost his control and couldn’t throw a strike. He left the game early after throwing 4 walks, 5 wild pitches, allowing 4 runs on 2 hits. It got worse for him in his next start as Ankiel couldn’t throw a single strike. To this day it is unknown for the lost of Ankiel’s control but his ability of being a dominating pitcher disappeared and he began to not only just struggle but his career almost came to an end. Tommy John surgery didn’t help Ankiel either as he pretty much just couldn’t pitch anymore. Thankfully Ankiel had a career resurgence when he transitioned into a full time outfielder but we continue to wonder what could’ve been for this “One Hit Wonder”. He could have been as dominating as some of the greats playing in that decade. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixXgZYb01xc
5. Fernando Tatis (1999 with the St. Louis Cardinals) – Fernando Tatis is well known by baseball fans for two reasons. One being that he is the father of current San Diego Padres Shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr., but mostly because he is the only MLB player in history to hit 2 Grand Slams in one inning. The 1999 season for Tatis was pretty shocking considering he was never seen as a slugging batter who can hit big homeruns. Tatis in the 1999 season hit 34 homeruns while scoring in 107 runs. He also had an On Base Percentage just above .400 and a Slugging Percentage of .553. However this was the only time where Tatis was seen as a dominating/slugging bat as injuries within the next few years and being sent down to the minors or playing a backup role would plague Tatis’ career. It’s pretty crazy to see a young talented player like Tatis go from having a dominating year at the plate to the next few seasons not being healthy enough or playing well enough to show how dominating of a player he truly was. He had so much potential but just couldn’t get the job done in the end. His career did span until 2010 but as I said before he jumped around the league with different teams and was back and forth between the Minors and Majors. It’s a shame that we never got to see what he can do in the long run but the 1999 season showed us what his true potential was. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syFmUVFNRZE
4. Brady Anderson (1996 with the Baltimore Orioles) – When I looked up “One Hit Wonders” on Google a lot of articles and websites had Brady Anderson on their lists and I questioned if he is a “One Hit Wonder” and after some thought I can say that his 1996 season compared to his entire career can defiantly make him a entry for this list. Prior to the ‘96 season, Anderson only had one really solid year in which he made an All-star team and was in the top 15 for MVP voting. However the 1996 season is his most dominating season in his career. Anderson was a part of a pretty big Baltimore lineup that included future Hall of Famers Eddie Murray, Roberto Alomar and Cal Ripken Jr., while also including Bobby Bonilla and Rafael Palmeiro. Anderson launched 50 balls behind the outfield wall and also drove in 110 RBI’s. His Slugging Percentage was pretty sky high at .637 and his OPS was just above 1.000. Shockingly Anderson finished only in 9th place for AL MVP voting, just behind some of the biggest sluggers in the AL including Frank Thomas, Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez and the eventual winner Juan Gonzalez. While Anderson might have had a huge power bat in the 1996 season, the next few seasons that power bat was kind of nowhere to be seen. He averaged 18 homeruns the next couple of years and was never capable of hitting anywhere close to his 50 homerun season. Was it pure luck on his side in the ‘96 season for him to hit 50 dingers? Well many people also said that Anderson was using steroids in the ‘96 season and it kind of makes sense since his power numbers doubled that year and then the next few years he was hitting anywhere from 18 – 20 homeruns. There isn’t enough evidence to say that he used steroids but steroids or no steroids it’s a shame that Anderson’s ‘96 season is considered by many as a “One Hit Wonder Season”. Anderson is probably the one name on this list to have a pretty decent career but his one huge dominating season is why he is on this list. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VA4176c49Es&t=63s
3. Mark Prior (2003 with the Chicago Cubs) – Mark Prior’s 2003 season is considered as one of the best pitching seasons in Cubs history. Prior to the 2003 season, no pun intended lol, Prior showed some true future potential as in the 2002 season he had a pretty decent season and finished 7th place in NL Rookie of the Year voting. A 22 year old Mark Prior was given a lifetime opportunity in the 2003 season and became the ace pitcher for the Cubs. While the 2003 season for the Cubs was mostly remembered for when they lost in the playoffs to the Florida Marlins thanks to a certain fan in the stands *cough* Steve Bartman *cough*, the rest of 2003 can be remembered as the year Mark Prior went BEASTMODE. Mark Prior’s sophomore year in the Major Leagues is one of the best sophomore years in baseball history as while he missed a couple of starts due to a little shoulder injury, he somehow managed to have an impressive season where he went 18-6 with a 2.43 ERA, striking out 245 batters in just 211.1 innings pitched. He made the All-Star team that year, finished 9th place in NL MVP voting and fished in 3rd place for NL Cy Young voting, pretty impressive for only being in your 2nd year in the big leagues and being only 22 years old. Now if you are paying attention at home this story unfortunately ends in a bad way. Mark Prior career took a strange turn for the worst as injuries sidelined him each year and he would slowly lose his ability to throw the heat and strikeout batters. While his 2005 season wasn’t terrible, it was nothing compared to his phenomenal season in 2003. But in 2006 his struggles increased rapidly and it would also be the final year he pitched in the Major Leagues. He mostly bounced around in the Minor Leagues in several different teams but he was no longer the young Ace for the Cubs, he was the One Hit Wonder that could have been an all time great and possibly a future Hall of Famer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPGSkVGCxL4
2. Chris Coghlan (2009 with the Florida Marlins) – This name might be shocking to see for some people as he can be known as one of the more forgettable names to win the Rookie of the Year. Chris Coghlan might have had one of the best Rookie years in the 2000s as he came onto the scene out of nowhere. The 2009 Florida Marlins are a pretty underrated team as they had the red hot Hanley Ramirez, a big power bat from Dan Uggla, surprising clutch bats from Cody Ross and Jorge Cantu, a very great ace pitcher Josh Johnson and a Rookie outfielder who would make a big name for himself, Chris Coghlan. Coghlan made his MLB debut on May 9th, 2009 and he started out his MLB career pretty slow but after a couple of months he began to find his footing. Actually his name became impossible to not see once August came around as Coghlan made a big name for himself. In August 2009, Coghlan batted .385 and set a franchise record with the Marlins by getting a hit in 8 consecutive games. He had 41 hits in the month, which was the most for a rookie since Todd Helton hit 45 back in 1998. He would win Rookie of the Month but he followed up his incredible month with an even bigger September. From September 1st, 2009 – October 4th, 2009, Coghlan batted over .400 while obtaining 50 hits while also having an On Base Percentage of .466. Coghlan became the first rookie to hit 40 plus hits in two straight months. The last person before him to hit 40 plus hits in two straight months was Ichiro Suzuki back in 2004. Coghlan finished the season with a .321 Batting Average and he ultimately won the 2009 NL Rookie of the Year. However all good things must come to an end as after the 2009 season Coghlan wasn’t the same player. He was still a decent hitter but he wasn’t getting on base and hitting the ball like he was in his rookie year. He was sent down a lot and was more of a back up by the time his career finished in 2017. It’s pretty sad to see a young talented star like Coghlan go from becoming one of the future stars of the sport to become kind of a novelty act. I remember that rookie season like it was yesterday. I even remember picking him up in Fantasy Baseball during his hot streak and watching him on ESPN highlights. It’s a shame his career never took off after that season but man just imagine if it did. He could have been something huge in the MLB if you ask me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Cectgj2IhA
1. Mark Fidrych (1976 with the Detroit Tigers) – The name Mark Fidrych and his story has been well documented online and all around the world as Fidrych made a huge name for himself in 1976 where he literally became the most talked about name in baseball. Fidrych’s 1976 season was his first year in the big leagues and the man legit became a rock star in the sport as everybody knew who he was and every team even wanted to face him so they could fill up the stadiums. That right there already shows how big of an impact Fidrych left on the sport in 1976. Fidrych made his MLB debut on April 20th, 1976 and only pitched a single inning from his debut to his first official start on May 15th. And on that day the young 21 year old rookie threw 6 hitless innings against the Cleveland Indians and ultimately won the game 2 – 1 for the Tigers while pitching a complete game. From there Fidrych kind of became a star in the making and eventually was literally baseball’s most beloved player. Mark “The Bird” Fidrych would go on to have one of the greatest rookie seasons and pitching seasons of all time as he held a 19 – 9 record with a league leading 2.34 ERA and pitching 24 complete games. He also finished the season by winning the AL Rookie of the Year, finished in 11th in AL MVP voting and 2nd in AL Cy Young voting. The man legit became the new face of baseball in literally just one year. Fidrych was a very great pitcher and while he didn’t have strike out numbers like Randy Johnson or Nolan Ryan and didn’t throw the ball over 100 mph like Aroldis Chapman, the man legit knew how to pitch like there was no tomorrow. Unfortunately this story doesn’t have a happy ending as while he was still being seen as the “new face of baseball” come the 1977 season his career began to take a huge turn for the worse. Injuries the next few seasons took him away from the sport for a while and he wasn’t able to stay healthy. Fidrych only played four more years after his amazing rookie season and nobody to this day knows why Mark Fidrych went from being the poster boy of baseball to literally the next person to have his 15 minutes of fame. It’s a real shame to see a young star in the making lose everything in a snap as the man legit became not only a “One Hit Wonder” but also a huge “What Could’ve Been” player. While his career ended abruptly short just after five seasons he still left a huge impact in the baseball world with his one and only huge season. He might not be as remembered today as he was years ago but his impact in the sport still lives on. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VV97FGL9-dw
Baseball is a funny sport as many players come and go in a blink of an eye. You never know which hot young talent or future breakout star will go from having one of the biggest seasons ever to literally becoming a name from the past that you completely forgot about. While not everyone on this list is forgotten names, we forget how great of a player they were because they didn’t perform as high as they did after that certain year.
Honorable Mentions:
Estaban Loaiza (2003 with the Chicago White Sox) – Loaiza was never a great pitcher but in 2003 he put on a Cy Young type of performance. He finished the year 2nd in Cy Young voting and had a 21-9 record with a 2.90 ERA, 207 strikeouts in 226.1 innings pitched.
Darin Erstad (2000 with the Anaheim Angels) – While Erstad had a decent career, the 2000 season would be his only season where he finished top 10 in MVP voting but also was seen as a huge clutch bat. He led the league with 240 hits while also batting .355 with an On Base Percentage just above .400. He also hit 25 homeruns and scored in 100 runs. He never had a single season before or after this season where he even hit above .300.
Carlos Quentin (2008 with the Chicago White Sox) – Quentin had a huge breakout year that saw him make the All-Star team, win a Silver Slugger and finish in 5th place for AL MVP voting. He hit 36 homeruns, had 100 runs batted in, batted .288 while having an On Base Percentage of .394 and a Slugging Percentage of .571. He never had a MVP type of season after 2008 and would only make the All-Star team one more time in his career.
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