.400 again?

[ElTexan]

With the emphasis on slugging, will we ever see a .400 batter again?

 

[Davis_Mike]

No.

Ted Williams was just a freak. Rod Carew is the only guy I can remember who got close with a .388 in 1977.

 

[ElTexan]

No.

Ted Williams was just a freak. Rod Carew is the only guy I can remember who got close with a .388 in 1977.

Last Chase for MLB's Magic Number

 

[ElTexan]

"Brett did in 1980, reaching .400 on Sept. 19, with just 14 games left in the season—the latest anyone has hit .400 since Williams."

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

No.

Ted Williams was just a freak. Rod Carew is the only guy I can remember who got close with a .388 in 1977.

George Brett in the early 80's....and Tony Gwynn in the mid 90's came real close....
In Gwynn's case, I think he got screwed by the strike that year?

Not too sure but maybe Wade Boggs came close one year too?

 

[Davis_Mike]

George Brett in the early 80's....and Tony Gwynn in the mid 90's came real close....
In Gwynn's case, I think he got screwed by the strike that year?

Not too sure but maybe Wade Boggs came close one year too?

I totally forgot those guys both a had a .390 year. I just remember Carew because he had a stretch on 4 or 5 years where hit .350+ every season.

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

I totally forgot those guys both a had a .390 year. I just remember Carew because he had a stretch on 4 or 5 years where hit .350+ every season.

yep.....and even the Beastie Boys mentioned him in one of their songs.....lol

 

[blstoker]

It's just so unlikely. Today's hitters just don't seem to have the approach to do it - but it's not like it has been easy before. Since 1940, there hasn't exactly been a plethora of batters who've challenged for .400.

Ted Williams, 1941 - .406
Ted Williams, 1957 - .388
Rod Carew, 1977 - .388
George Brett, 1980 - .390
Tony Gwynn, 1994 - .394

Those are the 4 players who have posted even a .380 in the last 75 years.

 

[ElTexan]

I don't think we'll see it again.
OPS is the stat that matters because it's what wins games:
That means batters will be swinging for power when they do swing, and they will be looking for a walk on a 3-1 pitch instead of swinging at relatively good balls to hit.

 

[calsnowskier]

The shift and specialized pitching also make it next to impossible.

 

[huskers1217]

I thought if anyone could have done it recently it would have been ichiro....but...nope not even close.

 

[tducey]

Eventually it will happen again, don't know when though.

 

[romeo212000]

The shift and specialized pitching also make it next to impossible.

For this reason and because of the emphasis on slugging and power, I don't think so either.

 

[MilkSpiller22]

Baseball is cyclic... so I do think it is possible, we just have to wait for a hitters era, and we have to wait for a special player...

 

[night]

For this reason and because of the emphasis on slugging and power, I don't think so either.

Smaller stadiums too. The gaps in the outfield are a little harder to find these days compared to when Williams played.

 

[Bmurph]

highly unlikely, but not impossible I guess

 

[williewilliejuan]

Nope. It happened a bunch of times back before the color barrier was broken and the guy pitching the ball was on a break from his regular job as a plumber, but it will never happen again. The pitching talent is too good and the strategies have changed to neutralize good hitters. It's also why it's ridiculously stupid to try to compare players against eras. Ty Cobb would get his racist ass handed to him in today's game. He sure as shit wouldn't hit over 0.400.

 

[JohnU]

Until all the pitchers sit out the year with TJ elbow or a sprained quadriceps, nobody is going to hit .400. The shift is on, the metrics are in and the bullpens have adjusted. Be happy with somebody hitting .340 now over 600 at-bats. Maybe they will develop a new kind of steroids, which might help a very fast guy.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

Going to take a combination of an excessively large park like Coors, luck, and sheer skill for it to happen again... and that's a hail mary. If Prime Brett, Gwynn, Jackson, etc couldn't do it in an era where there were not nearly as many shifts, I am not really sure I'll ever see it happen.

 

[Voltaire26]

Temper this with the fact that I am a shameless homer. Miguel Carberra will in 2016.