Will Joe Mauer hit .400?

[WhiskeyBreath]

How many ABs will get him qualified? If it's in the 480-500 range' date=' he probably won't qualify.[/quote']

 

I think it goes by plate appearances instead of AB's. The range looks good though.

[High Mileage]

He probably won't get the required 502 plate appearances, but it might not matter...

 

Currently, a player needs to accrue an average of at least 3.1 plate appearances for each game his team plays in order to qualify for the batting title. An exception to this qualification rule is that, if a player falls short of 3.1 plate appearances per game -- but would still have the highest batting average if enough hitless at-bats were added to reach the 3.1 average mark, the player still wins the batting championship.

 

The latest example of this exception being employed was in 1996, when Tony Gwynn had a .353 batting average, but only 498 plate appearances -- 4 short of the 502 necessary. In as much as 4 additional hitless at-bats would have lowered his batting average to .349, but .349 was still better than anyone else in the league, Gwynn was named the National League batting champion.

Basically, if Mauer is batting say .405, but only has 490 plate apperances, they would take .012 off his average. So if nobody is batting .393, Mauer would win the batting title.

[High Mileage]

Hitting .421 after going 1-4 yesterday...

[High Mileage]

Down to .407 after going 0-4 today...

[Dipre]

After today, Mauer's BABIP stands at an astronomical .424.

 

That is impossible to sustain.

[Dojji]

Sustaining a BABIP that high is a prerequiste to hitting .400.

[Dipre]

Sustaining a BABIP that high is a prerequiste to hitting .400.

 

Bingo.

 

In other words, it ain't happening.

[Youk Of The Nation]

Pretty much. The days of .400 hitters are long gone as far as I can see it. Mauer will probably win the batting title, but not over .400. BABIP does not stay that high for long.

[Dipre]

A .400 hitter will pop up eventually.

 

But in my opinion, it's gonna be a contact/power/patience hybrid who can sustain a flukish .400 BABIP through a season on the basis of eye-popping power numbers.

 

(See: Pujols, Albert)

[Youk Of The Nation]

If anyone now can do it, he can. Cano or Pedroia might do it in five or six years. It wouldn't shock me. But it wouldn't shock me if no one did, either.

[Dipre]

If anyone now can do it' date=' he can. Cano or Pedroia might do it in five or six years. It wouldn't shock me. But it wouldn't shock me if no one did, either.[/quote']

 

Cano's affinity for the high fastball is too easily exploited by superior pitching for him to have any shot.

 

Pedroia hitting 1st might do it, hitting 2nd it'll never happen since he's fundamentally sound and embraces the "productive out" philosophy.

[Youk Of The Nation]

Cano's affinity for the high fastball is too easily exploited by superior pitching for him to have any shot.

 

Pedroia hitting 1st might do it, hitting 2nd it'll never happen since he's fundamentally sound and embraces the "productive out" philosophy.

 

Damn him and his team first attitude!

 

I concede the point on Cano, and I still think both of them were a very outside shot. The game is just far too different in pitching and hitting than 50-60 years ago for any of the old records to be broken.

[Dipre]

Damn him and his team first attitude!

 

I concede the point on Cano, and I still think both of them were a very outside shot. The game is just far too different in pitching and hitting than 50-60 years ago for any of the old records to be broken.

 

Ichiro might go crazy one of these years and do it.

 

He definitely has the contact/speed combo (plus the flukish luck) to have a shot at it.

[Keeper]

I was just about to mention Ichiro. If anyone can do it, it's him. The problem with Ichiro is he's in his mid-30's now, so he's getting progressively slower. He also probably swings at too many pitches to have a realistic shot at it. I know he's a great bad ball hitter, but if he were more patient at the plate that would certainly help. Not that I should be telling the greatest pure hitter of this era how to hit.

[High Mileage]

.395 after going 0-5 yesterday...

[The_Destroyah]

if mauer ever moves to 1st or DH (preferably before he is on the downhill slide) I think he has a great chance of reaching the .400 mark, a few years ago I would have said Ichiro but he doesnt have QUITE the plate discipline to reach it. If mauer never gets a year at a position with less strain then we have to wait for a Pujols/Manny/Ichiro hybrid and that could be a lifetime, it is hard to say, we may very well not see a .400 hitter for another 25 years.