Will we ever see another 400 hitter?

[Turd Ferguson]

1995. Still remember it like yesterday

Maddux W 2-hitter
Glavine W Dominanting
Smoltz L - odd subpar outing
Avery W - HUGE controversy to start him and he went a strong 6.
Maddux L - How could we lose?!!??!! with Maddux starting?
Glavine W 1-hitter = WC champs.

Growing up in Nebraska in the 90's I was blessed to get 81 Braves games a season on TBS and became a huge Braves fan (still a pretty big fan). That team was a lot more than just starting pitching: Javy Lopez, Chipper Jones, David Justice, Fred McGriff, Ryan Klesko, plus some of my all time favorite lesser knowns like Mark Lemke and Jeff Blauser. Between the Huskers NC and the Braves winning the WS, 1995 was a great year and probably the peak of my sports fandom.

 

[Rainbow Dash]

I think it will happen at some point. The game will have to evolve though before it does. This new swing-plane everyone is doing leads to more home runs...but it leads hitters into too many strikeouts to hit .400. I think eventually, with defensive shifts and such, hitters will go back to more fundamental swings.

It takes the perfect storm. It takes the right player, on the right team, with the ability to hit oppo, and the ability to hit homer runs while not striking out. I think Bonds could have done it in 2002 with a stud behind him. He hit like .370 that year with pitchers essentially not pitching to him. He’s a power guy though. I don’t think it will be a pure power guy who does it.

 

[BasilLongfellow]

I think it will happen at some point. The game will have to evolve though before it does. This new swing-plane everyone is doing leads to more home runs...but it leads hitters into too many strikeouts to hit .400. I think eventually, with defensive shifts and such, hitters will go back to more fundamental swings.

It takes the perfect storm. It takes the right player, on the right team, with the ability to hit oppo, and the ability to hit homer runs while not striking out. I think Bonds could have done it in 2002 with a stud behind him. He hit like .370 that year with pitchers essentially not pitching to him. He’s a power guy though. I don’t think it will be a pure power guy who does it.

Strikeouts are gradually becoming more acceptable.

The higher level you play at, the more strikeouts are accepted as the probability of errors decline. Outside of sacrifice situations, an out is an out. The type of out is irrelevant. You're out. And a strikeout is always better than a double play.

With the new technology and teaching methods of swing planes and exit velocities off bats, the strikeout is an acceptable downside to homeruns.

 

[BasilLongfellow]

Also, they say you should be able to hit with power to the opposite field just as easily to the pull side.

That's what they say.

They are technically correct.

But the number of guys that can do that is probably less than 10 in the world.

So I think people that say that are jerks.

 

[Rainbow Dash]

Also, they say you should be able to hit with power to the opposite field just as easily to the pull side.

That's what they say.

They are technically correct.

But the number of guys that can do that is probably less than 10 in the world.

So I think people that say that are jerks.

Haha exactly. I see so many hitters who can’t even put a soft grounder in play to the left side of the field with no defensive player even close to third base. Do they even work on it?

 

[BasilLongfellow]

Haha exactly. I see so many hitters who can’t even put a soft grounder in play to the left side of the field with no defensive player even close to third base. Do they even work on it?

I don't think so. And in a season of 162 games, slapping 5-10 hits to the opposite side to get a base hit can change your average like 10 points, which I would think would meet salary incentives.

But nope. Grip and rip baby.

 

[BasilLongfellow]

Haha exactly. I see so many hitters who can’t even put a soft grounder in play to the left side of the field with no defensive player even close to third base. Do they even work on it?

I'll add, when I was doing time in the Northern League, the veteran guys that had been either in the Show or close to it demanded the hitters work opposite field in bp. But that was the early 2000s, so who knows now.

 

[Rainbow Dash]

Strikeouts are gradually becoming more acceptable.

The higher level you play at, the more strikeouts are accepted as the probability of errors decline. Outside of sacrifice situations, an out is an out. The type of out is irrelevant. You're out. And a strikeout is always better than a double play.

With the new technology and teaching methods of swing planes and exit velocities off bats, the strikeout is an acceptable downside to homeruns.

Maybe that will never change, I dunno. Remember growing up watching shortstops and 2nd basemen batting .250 with 5 homeruns? That was common place. Ozzie Smith played 19 seasons and had 28 career home runs and maybe averaged 35 RBI a season. There were 15 shortstops who hit 15 or more taters last year. Also, there were 15 second basemen who did it as well. Crazy!

 

[Knight]

What have been the top 10 highest season batting averages in the last 30 years? Anyone know where to look?

 

[Knight]

I like baseball the way it is. It has evolved many times. 9 innings, over 3 hours. Who cares. Just let them play the game and enjoy it however you like. Casually, seriously, with friends, focused... whatever. THe game isn't going anywhere.

 

[BHELHusker]

I remember watching Tony Gwynn when I was stationed in Hawaii and then in San Diego. He hit .394 in the shorted 1994 season. Hit over .300 every hear but his rookie year. Got to watch him play triple A ball in Hawaii in 1982 before his call up to the Padres. And then arrived in San Diego in 1984 time to watch them make to the World Series. He was a great player and better person.

 

[IBwrong]

 

[IBwrong]