Tristram Edgar Speaker, nicknamed "the Gray Eagle", was an American professional baseball player. Considered one of the greatest players in the history of Major League Baseball (MLB), he compiled a career batting average of .345. His 792 career doubles represent an MLB career record. His 3,514 hits are fifth in the all-time hits list. Defensively, Speaker holds career records for assists, double plays, and unassisted double plays by an outfielder. His fielding glove was known as the place "where triples go to die."
Speaker in 1912
(Left to right) Duffy Lewis, Tris Speaker and Harry Hooper, members of Boston's "Million-Dollar Outfield"
Lou Gehrig, Speaker, Ty Cobb, and Babe Ruth, 1928
Speaker's 1933 Goudey Gum Company baseball card
Batting average (baseball)
In baseball, batting average (BA) is determined by dividing a player's hits by their total at-bats. It is usually rounded to three decimal places and read without the decimal: A player with a batting average of .300 is "batting three-hundred". If necessary to break ties, batting averages could be taken beyond the .001 measurement. In this context, .001 is considered a "point", such that a .235 batter is 5 points higher than a .230 batter.
Reggie Jackson batting at Yankee Stadium in 1979; Jackson batted .297 that season.
Top batting averages for the 1877 season, as published in The Buffalo Sunday Morning News—Deacon White led the league
Ty Cobb has the highest MLB career batting average (.366).