.400 Hitter

[Astro]

Will there ever be a hitter to hit .400 in a season again?


Note: For Ichiro Suzuki to have have hit .400 last season he would of needed an extra 20 hits on top of his record breaking 262, so 282 hits in 704 at bats

[CyNotSoYoung]

No - for a lot of reasons, but basically because pitching and defense are so much better all around than they were in Teddy Ballgame's day - and even he had to combine extraordinary ability with a lot of luck to make it. Besides, BA - as has been discussed many times in BF forums, just isn't considered to be as important today as it used to be.

[MasonDixon]

I could see a guy like Pujols doing it. You'd need to get pitched around a lot and be a power threat. Ichiro just had to many at-bats. You can't do it in 700 at-bats, but if Pujols could draw enough walks I think he'd have a legitimate shot.

[BigStellyPADRES4LIFE]

No way no how the standard deviation in batting average is much smaller than it used to be. Therefore its alot harder to exceed .400.

[Appling]

I agree with Mason Dixon that someone may well hit .400, but not with 700+ official at-bats. My bet would be on a younger Barry Bonds -- someone who gets many plate appearances but relatively few official at-bats.

[HDH]

It won't be long before the right type of player for Coors field will produce .400 hitters.

[Brannu]

I'm optimistic ...

I think it can be done ... stranger things have happened.

[BristolBoy]

I think it could be done - how many ABs/PAs are needed for it to be official?

[scrabblehack]

As I recall, official is 3.1 x the number of games the team has played. For a 162 game schedule that's 502.2 -- I assume they round up to 503.

[E.Banks#14]

That rules Bonds out.

I believe it will happen because, as we have witnessed, eras change. Ichiro probably came the closest in this hitter's era (unless D.LEE has something to say about that w/ his .392 BA currently). We will sometime reenter a hitter's era where someone better will come along.

[Astro]

Originally Posted by E.Banks#14

That rules Bonds out.

I believe it will happen because, as we have witnessed, eras change. Ichiro probably came the closest in this hitter's era (unless D.LEE has something to say about that w/ his .392 BA currently). We will sometime reenter a hitter's era where someone better will come along.

It's plate apperance, not at bats, so it doesnt rule Bonds out, hence Bonds winning the batting title last season

Also, Suzuki hit .372, Helton and Garciaparra hit .372 back in 2000...

The closest a player has even been to .400 is Tony Gwynn, who was hitting .398 when the season was ended early due to the strike

[west coast orange and black]

boggs was the last player to bat .400 in a hidden season.
a "hidden season" is the length of time that it takes a team to play, over the course of consecutive seasons, 162 games.

over the final 107 games of of the ’85 season wade boggs batted .402.
then by 8 june 1986, the 162nd game of the skein, boggs had batted in 160 of ‘em for an even .400 (at the end of the 154th game boggs was at .402).

next closest to boggs is tony gwynn: .398 from 1 july 1993 – 1 july 1994

[Sam]

Once the Rox learn to bring in high priced non-pitching free agents, you just watch out. Even when we bring in pitchers they smack the ball around (evidence: Mike Hampton, Jason Jennings). If Todd Helton got any protection in the lineup, he'd make a run for it. God bless Coors. The beer, the field, everything.

[Gaijin]

Yes because "ever" is a very, very long time. Unless the game itself goes out of style or it changes in a major way that makes it even more difficult than it already is, it will happen someday. There will be great players in the future as well who stand out above their peers. Eventually there will be a perfect storm of circumstances: the right man in the right place at the right time - and we will have another .400 hitter. You and I might not live to see this, however.

[Honus Wagner Rules]

You put Pujols, Bonds, Gwynn, or Boggs in Coor's Field they would hit .400. Someday the Rockies will have a player of that caliber.

[Appling]

Originally Posted by Honus Wagner Rules

You put Pujols, Bonds, Gwynn, or Boggs in Coor's Field they would hit .400. Someday the Rockies will have a player of that caliber.

An article in the June 24 issue of the Sporting News ("Into Thin ...") would have us believe that few players of any talent want to play at Coors. GM Dan O'Dowd is quoted as saying it is nearly impossible to assemble a winning team in Denver. "Winning is tougher for the Rockies and likely always will be."

Partly because of the Mike Hampton disaster, pitchers who have a choice will not play for Denver. They need players of "high character", more interested in team wins than in building their personal stats. Apparently most position players would prefer to play for a team that has a chance to win; and a team with no pitching can't win.

It may take two completely different rosters to win -- one to win games at Coors, and another to play a completely different type of baseball on the road. Not the best way to develop a .400 hitter.

[DTF955]

One forgets that George Brett was hurt a fair amount in 1980, and that he had some speed - but not as much as Carew in '77. Gwynn in '94 I don't think was all that fast anymore, but was somewhat.

You get a Carew or Gwynn type in his prime even away from Coors, they'll do it if they draw lots of walks or if they get hurt a lot. Why? Bunting, too, is almost out of style nowadays. You get a guy fast enough to get a dozen bunt base hits a year in a full season, and he tries, it'll force guys to play in just a step or two, too.

550-600 official plate appearances, 450 at bats, because of injuries, you only need 180 hits. Doable, but very tough.

[Appling]

Originally Posted by DTF955

Bunting, too, is almost out of style nowadays. You get a guy fast enough to get a dozen bunt base hits a year in a full season, and he tries, it'll force guys to play in just a step or two, too.

550-600 official plate appearances, 450 at bats, because of injuries, you only need 180 hits. Doable, but very tough.

Bunting in a "sacrifice bunt" situation is a great too that not too many use today. Try a bunt with runner on base and less than two out. If you beat it out you get credit for a hit, but if you don't beat the throw to first, you won't be charged with a time-at-bat (provided the runners advance on the bunt).

Barry Bonds has taught us all to think differently about the batting title. A player like him might get the needed 502 plate appearances and yet be charged with fewer than 350 at-bats. So a player could qualify for the batting title -- and hit over .400 -- with fewer than 150 hits.

[four tool]

Probably won't be done because no one has come close enough over a full season