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Will we ever see another 400 hitter?

BornRed

BornRed

And Proud of it!
5 Year Member
Wanted to start a discussion on the possibility of seeing another 400 hitter and reasons behind your thinking. If my memory serves me correctly, the last hitter to flirt with 400 late in the season was George Brett (maybe Rod Carew?). The point is it has been a long time. Personally, I doubt we will see another 400 hitter. I blame it on the managers. Pitchers are pulled sooner these days and you'll see a manager bring in a pitcher for one batter only for the match up. It seems pretty common for a manager to use 3-4 pitchers in a game these days. It's not like the pitchers are throwing the ball faster or putting more movement on the ball than years past.
 

I don't think it will ever happen again but would love to see a hitter flirt with it. I remember keeping track of Brett when he was chasing it although he was my all-time favorite player.
 
A quick check, and I came up with this.... So, 4 guys have done it in a single season, and you can tell by the teams, it was a long time ago for most. I believe it's possible we could see it happen as it's happened more than once. Will any of us be around to witness, well.......
Who has the highest batting average in a single season?
Batting average
Player Team Average
Nap Lajoie Philadelphia Athletics .426
Rogers Hornsby St. Louis Cardinals .424
George Sisler St. Louis Browns .420
Ty Cobb Detroit Tigers .420
 



1. Really good pitchers are in abundance now compared to the bygone eras. MLB now has white, black, latino, asian, martian and alphacentarians on rosters.
2. The strike zone, however, is now much more in the favor of hitters comparatively.
3. Advancements in training have helped both pitcher and hitter
4. Anabolics are easier to detect, and help hitters more. Longevity synthetics (HGH analogs) are very difficult to detect, and help pitchers much more. Huge advantage to pitchers.
 
I think the relief pitcher has done more to prevent a .400 hitter than anything else in baseball.
It has become a rare occasion when a hitter sees the same pitcher 4 times in a game. The new wave is to replace starters after two times through the line-up.
Ted Williams saw no 95 MPH flame throwers late in the games he played.
The game is much different than in 1941. Not that I was around then.
 
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It used to be that everyone tried to stay inside out and keep their hands inside the ball as long as possible. Lot of guys were good at it, but the only great ones were Bonds, Griffey, and ARod.

So, the game evolved. Now instead of trying to cut the ball, guys are just shooting for launch angles from the load position. There really isn't a demand for a singles and gaps hitter in the game anymore at the big league level.
 
Baseball has definitely evolved to the point of making it very unlikely -- barring further unseen evolution.

I do think relief pitchers have a lot to do with it.

Even when George Brett chased .400 down to the final week of the season, you generally had starters and a quality closer. Middle relievers were not nearly the commodity they've become in the past 10-15 years.

And yes, batters generally try to hit for power ... get under the ball and launch it ... rather than driving it through the holes. Because, homeruns create highlights.

Ichiro was probably the most recent great batter who hit solely for average. And even his best season was .372 (which is outstanding, in today's era of baseball).
 




BasilLongfellow said:
So, the game evolved. Now instead of trying to cut the ball, guys are just shooting for launch angles from the load position. There really isn't a demand for a singles and gaps hitter in the game anymore at the big league level.
Click to expand...

This all day. You never see guys cut down on their swing with 2 strikes anymore. It's become all about the HR. A guy bats .260 but hits 30+ homers with sketchy defense and he's still getting big bucks next time contract comes up.

Personally, I hate how it's evolved to this and I think the game is worse off for it, but I suppose the average fan wants to go to the game and doesn't mind watching 15 Ks as long as they see a couple of HRs. :Puke:
 
Hosskerz said:
This all day. You never see guys cut down on their swing with 2 strikes anymore. It's become all about the HR. A guy bats .260 but hits 30+ homers with sketchy defense and he's still getting big bucks next time contract comes up.

Personally, I hate how it's evolved to this and I think the game is worse off for it, but I suppose the average fan wants to go to the game and doesn't mind watching 15 Ks as long as they see a couple of HRs. :Puke:
Click to expand...

I agree; but it's hard to argue with a single and a bomb is two runs, while two singles and a double is one run.
 
HUSKER HOT SAUCE said:
A quick check, and I came up with this.... So, 4 guys have done it in a single season, and you can tell by the teams, it was a long time ago for most. I believe it's possible we could see it happen as it's happened more than once. Will any of us be around to witness, well.......
Who has the highest batting average in a single season?
Batting average
Player Team Average
Nap Lajoie Philadelphia Athletics .426
Rogers Hornsby St. Louis Cardinals .424
George Sisler St. Louis Browns .420
Ty Cobb Detroit Tigers .420
Click to expand...

A long time for most? Hmm! Ted William did it in 1941.
Even 1941 is 77 years ago. :)

Before that, it was a really, really long time ago for all the rest:

Nap Lajoie - 1901 (.426)
Hornsby - 1922 (.401), 1924 (.424) & 1925 (.403) - 3XWinner!
Sisler - 1920 (407) & 1922- (.420) - 2X Winner!
Cobb - 1911 (.420, 1912 (.409) & 1922 (.401) - 3XWinner!

The following 4 were just a little bit more dominant!!

Tip O"Neill - 1887 - St. Louis - .485 (AA)
Pete Browning - 1887 - Louisville - .457 (AA)
Bob Caruthers - 1887 - St. Louis - .456 (AA)
Hugh Duffy - 1894 - Boston - .440 (NL)

The .400 Hitters Club:'

In my opinion, and most everyone elses, the quality of pitching and
the types of pitches, back in the old day, did not stand up to the
modern era. But, that is a subject that has gone on forever!

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/hitting/hi400c.shtml

Thanks for your input, HHS. It will always be a great subject to talk about. :)
 
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izzycohen said:
I think the relief pitcher had done more to prevent a .400 hitter than anything else in baseball.
It has become a rare occasion when a hitter sees the same pitcher 4 times in a game. The new wave is to replace starters after two times through the line-up.
Ted Williams saw no 95 MPH flame throwers late in the games he played.
The game is much different than in 1941. Not that I was around then.
Click to expand...

I was! But, I was 3, and my interests just were not in sports! ;)
 



katymac said:
I don't think so. Maybe someone like Altuve, but he is showing more power recently. Brett was my favorite.
Click to expand...

Rod Carew and George Brett were the only 2 that had a chance. I am sure all agree with that. Today, forget it!
As mentioned, too many specialists and top-notch receivers in the game, anymore. Maybe, half a season or more, but not a season. Besides, players get tired, also.
 
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CrnhskrBob said:
In my opinion, and most everyone elses, the quality of pitching and
the types of pitches, back in the old day, did not stand up to the
modern era. But, that is a subject that has gone on forever!
Click to expand...
Oh, it's true. I mean, at least since the early 1990's, some of the pitchers we've seen, have been amazingly good. But, records are meant to be broken. I mean, nobody thought that anyone would break the 4 minute mile, break Maris' record, eat more than 70 hotdogs, etc. etc. As I said too, none of us on the HM may be around to see, so to the OP, most likely not, it doesn't mean it can't or wont happen. If it does happen, I just hope it's not the Damn Yankees. Any of the other 31 teams, I'd be okay with it, I would.
 

HUSKER HOT SAUCE said:
Oh, it's true. I mean, at least since the early 1990's, some of the pitchers we've seen, have been amazingly good. But, records are meant to be broken. I mean, nobody thought that anyone would break the 4 minute mile, break Maris' record, eat more than 70 hotdogs, etc. etc. As I said too, none of us on the HM may be around to see, so to the OP, most likely not, it doesn't mean it can't or wont happen. If it does happen, I just hope it's not the Damn Yankees. Any of the other 31 teams, I'd be okay with it, I would.
Click to expand...
Unless someone else comes along, I only see Altuve in the running for .400. If I don't see another, it is fine with me.

Of course, as said, I was only 3 when Ted Williams did it. It would be something to behold, for sure. We have HR records all the time, but the 2 sacred ones are still out there: .400, once more and breaking Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak! And, even if they do break Joltin' Joe's streak, he went on to hit in another 24 or so after that! Joe was an amazing ball player! Proud, he was from the Bay Area. Many folks still think he is from San Francisco. The truth is, he was born in Martinez, across the Bay, but he went to school in San Francisco. :)

Joe went to Galileo High School. Sadly, someone else went there, also. I remember, while still living in the Bay Area, this phenom was breaking records, left and right. He was one heck of a local hero. Sadly, all that has gone by the wayside:

joe-dimaggio-9274899-1-402.jpg
$
 
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