If you were to ask the casual HBL fan today who the best hitters in the history of the league were Mitchell Hilton's name would not come up. Sure he's a Hall of Famer but his peak was shorter than most of the great hitters and for his entire career he wasn't even considered the best hitter on any of his Bay City Lake Monsters teams...except for 1990!
Hilton was an unknown coming out of high school in 1981 having just one plate appearance on his resume. Scouts from other teams scoffed when Bay City selected him with the 10th pick of the second round, 22nd overall. Most scouts didn't even have him on their draft list at all. On a mission to prove to everyone, especially the Bay City brass, that he could indeed play he got off to a slow start in the minors.
He went straight to AA in 1982 and struggled to a tune of a .160 batting average in 64 games. The Lake Monsters', realizing their mistake, sent him down to A ball for all of 1983 & 1984. It was there that he showed signs of life hitting 36 homers in 168 games over the two seasons but his average was not where the team hoped it would be. Frustrated over being sent back to AA to start 1985 something clicked with Hilton and everything came to together. Over 273 AA plate appearances Hilton hit .335 with 18 homers. A promotion to AAA to finish 1985 saw his progress continue finishing with a .347 batting average and 12 extra base hits in just 94 plate appearances.
Blocked by three time All-Star first baseman Arthur Wells, Hilton was again relegated to the minors for the start of the 1986 season. Although frustrated Hilton didn't act out but instead took it out on AAA pitching with one of the finest minor league seasons ever posting a .359 batting average with 41 homers and 130 RBI in 120 games walking away with the AAA Hitter of the Year Award.
Bay City knew they could no longer hold Hilton back and they handed him the first base job in spring training relegating the veteran Wells,who had just won the North Hitter of the Year Award, to a back up roll. The 24 year old Hilton didn't look back immediately establishing himself as a hitter to be feared in a potent lineup. The rookie would finish in the North top five in BA(.330), HR(41), and RBI(128) walking away with the North Rookie of the Year an narrowly missing out on the North Hitter of the Year.
1988 was another big year for Hilton again finishing second in homers but first in RBI while taking home the Best Fielder Award and coming in second to future Hall of Fame teammate Bret Hawkins (who had just put up the HBL's first .400 season) for the North Hitter of the Year. The Lake Monsters were also on the move finishing five games behind Oshkosh for the North title. Hawkins won another North Hitter of the Year Award in 1989 while Hilton took a step back in his production with his first sub-.300 batting average and just 31 homers while Bay City again finished second in the North, this time to a surprising Duluth squad.
Then 1990 happened. Up to this point the HBL was still young and there were many very good players battling to be the face of the league. Bay City teammate Bret Hawkins was considered by many to be the best hitter in the entire league coming off two consecutive batting titles and North Hitter of the Year Awards.
The HBL had never seen a Triple Crown and due to Hawkins' hitting prowess and his lack of league leading power the experts didn't expect to see one any time soon. Hilton changed all of that. After one month he was leading all of the HBL in average(.405), homers(11), and RBI(27). He would continue to pace both leagues in homers and RBI to the point where he had wrapped up those titles early and was now looking at breaking the single season records set by Poplar Bluff's Kelvin Green in 1984.
With two of the three categories wrapped up Hilton focused on the batting title while trying not to sacrifice his power. It was an uphill battle as Hawkins had a 12 point lead heading into August with history on his side.
To the dismay of all watching Hawkins would struggle down the stretch hitting just .318 in August while Hilton batted .358 and headed into the final 11 games of the season trailing by just three points. Hilton took it to another level in September hitting .415 while Hawkins continued to struggle. Not only did Hilton hit for average over the final 11 games but he slammed five homers and knocked in 12 to finish the season with the first ever Triple Crown in HBL history along with the single season records for homers and RBI.
HBL Triple crown: .363, 52 HR, 151 RBI
Mitchell Hilton would go on to hit .346 with a league leading 36 homers helping Hawkins and company lead the Lake Monsters to the 1991 HBL Championship but injuries would soon limit him. After 1993 he would never again hit over .300 or slug more than 31 homers.
Although his overall numbers are somewhat modest compared to his HOF peers Hilton will always hold his place in history as not just the first triple crown in HBL history but, as of 2018, the only one accomplished by a hitter.
Mitchell Hilton went on to retire following the 2002 season and was elected to the HBL HOF in 2004 on his second year on the ballot. He ended his career with one North Rookie of the Year Award(1986), one North Hitter of the Year Award(1990), one HBL Triple Crown(1990), eight HBL All-Star appearances, four North Best Fielder Awards and one Heartland Series Championship.
