 A dominating hitter during the prime of his career , he led ( or was in the top of ) the league in most offensive categories , including batting average , runs scored , runs batted in ( RBI ) , on @-@ base percentage and hits . He led the league in batting average five times , the most by a 19th @-@ century player , and his career .342 batting average still ranks ninth all @-@ time . Brouthers is one of only 29 players in baseball history to date who have appeared in Major League games in four decades . 
