Will anyone ever hit 400 again?
- Thread starter Charlie Marlow_rivals363743
- Start date
Good question!
Probably not but it might not be so much that the hitting is worse but more just the advance scouting.
I think for it to happen, the batter would have to be in his first year or two in the bigs...once there is a ton of data on a hitter the odds really go against him.
I think Miguel Cabrera is the last great hitter we have seen. He is only a .310 career hitter, but he is very accomplished. Dude won the triple crown in 2012 and had nearly identical numbers the following year with a better batting average.
*he has over 500 home runs and closing in on 2000 ribs. He has aged like a normal human being and not like Bonds who mysteriously got crazy good at his age. Just pencil him into the Hall Of Fame right now.
*he has over 500 home runs and closing in on 2000 ribs. He has aged like a normal human being and not like Bonds who mysteriously got crazy good at his age. Just pencil him into the Hall Of Fame right now.
Last edited:
I don't think anyone will ever hit .400 again, but I also think there are probably 15 guys playing today who could've had a shot to do it back in the '40s
too many flamethrowers & too many different pitchers faced every day
too many flamethrowers & too many different pitchers faced every day
Agree, The amount of specialized pitchers in todays game really changes the optics the hitter faces throughout the course of a game.
I think Ichiro Suzuki should get some consideration too. He was Tony Gwynn 2.0. He was a punch and judy hitter like Gwynn with a much lower career batting average. He came to MLB after playing in Japan for nine seasons. He has nearly as many hits as Gwynn in a few more at bats in 19 seasons. Neither of their HRs or ribs compares to Miggy. Ichiro had almost 1300 more hits and about a .353 average while in Japan. Imagine what his MLB numbers would have been if he played in America during that time.
*dude has NINE straight 200 hit seasons to start his career in MLB. Gwynn has five spread out over his entire career.
*dude has NINE straight 200 hit seasons to start his career in MLB. Gwynn has five spread out over his entire career.
If anyone is going to do it that's currently in the bigs it's Luis Arraez because he's the rare great hitter who either can't drive the ball or doesn't care about doing it.
Everyone loves Ichiro, Gwynn, Rose Jeter, A-Rod, and all the new guys, etc., etc. But no one ever mentions Puckett.
Puckett had more hits in his first 10 years than anyone in the modern era of baseball (2040). Since the 1930's. He has the highest batting average for a righty since Joe DiMaggio...and no one since he's retired, righty or lefty, has had as high of lifetime average (.318).
He had a lot of pop in the bat too, unlike Ichiro, Gwynn, Rose, etc. Led the league in RBI's. And the 2 times (in his 12 year career) that he got to the postseason, the Twins won it all...with Puckett coming through big. Unlike guys like A-Rod, who absolutely stunk, putrid, in his first several postseason chances. Rose did nothing in his first postseason. But everyone forgets that.
This. And the game has changed. Power is more important now than it was in the 70s.
"vidi, vici, ichi." -- I came, I saw, I hit! .. His offensive stats were great, but he was also an outstanding defensive player.
And also with all the advanced scouting and film they watch , an infielder and outfielder can move a few feet either way and it’s the difference between a hit and a out.
I love watching guys who hit for average and get on base a lot. I definitely buy into the idea that current pitching makes hitting for average harder, but I also believe that if a team were to focus on hitting for average and cutting down strikeouts it would result in success. There are too many guys trying to hit homers that shouldn't be. Benintendi is an example of a guy who stopped worrying about homers and saved his career.
Goldschmidt is having a hell of a season, currently batting .333 with 108 hits and 19 dongs.
Goldschmidt is having a hell of a season, currently batting .333 with 108 hits and 19 dongs.
can you imagine a guy like Bryce Harper playing back in the '70s/'80s? he'd have fit right in
Max Scherzer, too
To the OP, I don't think there is a way in hell anyone will ever hit .400 again.
I love baseball discussions on stuff like this. Obviously Gwynn was freaking next level when it came to hitting. A few people mentioned Brett and Boggs. A sneaky one I would throw in is Larry Walker. Walker lead the league in BA three times with a .379 avg in 99. Also Rod Carew was a witch at the plate.
Back to Gwynn, if you look at his career numbers they are freaking unreal. Over 20 years and 10232 plate appearances he struck out 434 times!!!!!! Someone said something about Trout, in 12 years and 5986 PA he already has 1312 SOs. Great player and a 5 tool guy, but if we are just talking hitting he is not on the same level as some of the greats. Different time and differ game, I get it, but pure hitting no.
Stan Musial 22 years, .331 career BA 696 SO's in 12721 PA. There is a reason he was called Stan "The Man".
I love baseball discussions on stuff like this. Obviously Gwynn was freaking next level when it came to hitting. A few people mentioned Brett and Boggs. A sneaky one I would throw in is Larry Walker. Walker lead the league in BA three times with a .379 avg in 99. Also Rod Carew was a witch at the plate.
Back to Gwynn, if you look at his career numbers they are freaking unreal. Over 20 years and 10232 plate appearances he struck out 434 times!!!!!! Someone said something about Trout, in 12 years and 5986 PA he already has 1312 SOs. Great player and a 5 tool guy, but if we are just talking hitting he is not on the same level as some of the greats. Different time and differ game, I get it, but pure hitting no.
Stan Musial 22 years, .331 career BA 696 SO's in 12721 PA. There is a reason he was called Stan "The Man".
Yeah Gwynn only had one season in which he struck out 40 times. So even in that year, he basically K'd once every four games. Joe DiMaggio was similar, but with more power. He had 361 career HRs versus 369 career Ks, and never struck out 40 times in a season.
Nothing against the long ball, but I wish there were more of those guys playing today.
because old baseball clips are great and the game has changed as much as it has, I'll just leave this right here
Pretty hilarious, but I'm glad this aspect of the game doesn't exist anymore. I like the fact the neighborhood rule no longer exists!
IF it happens again - and I say it won’t - but IF it happens it would take someone with a line drive approach who hits to all fields and plays 81 games in Denver. That outfield is enormous…some pretty ordinary guys put up monster numbers in that park.
Trout was in the top-5 for MVP for 9 years in a row. Which puts Ichiro, Gwynn, Boggs, & most others to shame.
But Puckett was top-7 8 times in his last 10 years.
And Cabrera was top-5 7 times in a 9-year stretch.
Just look at their numbers. Trout is worlds better than kirby. Trout's worst is better than kirby's best.
since we're talking about the greats, it's worth noting a Hall of Fame baseball sh*t talker is still at it on the mean streets of twitter - challenging a Jon Heyman (a blowhard) to a boxing match
we always need more Ozzie in our baseball lives
we always need more Ozzie in our baseball lives
Better yes , but a hall of famer can’t be put to shame by anyone, that why I came up with the ignorant post!
I still laugh when I think about Ozzie signaling to the bullpen for Bobby Jenks.
"Which righthander do you want, Skipper?"
"The wide one!"
Just for fun take a look at Rickey Henderson's career stats. I know he doesn't fit in to the hitting discussion, but Rickey was fun to watch. 25 years!
Rickey Henderson
Gwynn, Puckett, Ichiro....those guys are scrubs compared to Trout.
Miggy put up some huge numbers at least.
You call hall of famers scrubs I was wrong you are not ignorant , you are just plain stupid!
my all-time favorite
in 1985, Rickey scored more runs (146) than he played games (143)!