With the era of pitching specialists, the setup men, the closers, etc... the pitching is becoming too good for a batter to go the entire season ending with a .400-plus batting average. Another reason is the media and the added pressure. Right now, hitting .350 - .360 in a season makes for a great season.
#1 - Thu Jul 2, 2009 5:31 AM EDTTed Williams didn't have to face so many different pitches like batters do today; the splitter and cutter were only thrown by a few inovators; like Elroy Face and his forkball. The slider wasn't common until the second half of Ted's career. Williams didn't strikeout as often as modern players do, maybe 50 times in a full season, and he wouldn't swing at a ball outside the strike zone. I never saw anyone with a quicker bat than Ted, it seemed like he could hit the ball out of the catchers mitt and pull it to right field. Relief aces would no doubt cut down on his average too.
#2 - Thu Jul 2, 2009 3:48 PM EDTTed Williams will not be the last man to make hitting a science. That next person may be playing today as a raw rookie or will not not play for the next 50 years; but he will appear.
Baseball rules will change again and hitters will be dominant.
#3 - Thu Jul 2, 2009 4:19 PM EDTOverall, I don't think the player talent today is as good as the players were back in the Williams era. There were fewer teams, fewer player spots, which meant less players, with more overall talent on each team. They played less games, but a lot more scheduled double headers back then. And those double headers were continuous, not day night affairs like today. Overall, the pitching was a lot better back then. The relief pitchers were in that category because they were not as talented as the starters. The pitches had rubber arms an could throw all day. Today's pitchers have been babied all through their development and thus this silly 100 pitch restriction has invited continuous arm problems. Muscle build up alone including steroids does not improve pitching prowess, it take repetitive arm motion over years of body development as players go from adolescent to adults. Williams would have eaten up these mostly fastball pitches of today. Plus, if you ever tried to dig in as a batter the pitcher would put the ball between your ears. Knocking down batters was prevalent back then as the pitches ruled both sides of the plate.
#4 - Thu Jul 2, 2009 5:47 PM EDTOverall, I don't think the player talent today is as good as the players were back in the Williams era. There were fewer teams, fewer player spots, which meant less players, with more overall talent on each team. They played less games, but a lot more scheduled double headers back then. And those double headers were continuous, not day night affairs like today. Overall, the pitching was a lot better back then. The relief pitchers were in that category because they were not as talented as the starters. The pitches had rubber arms an could throw all day. Today's pitchers have been babied all through their development and thus this silly 100 pitch restriction has invited continuous arm problems. Muscle build up alone including steroids does not improve pitching prowess, it take repetitive arm motion over years of body development as players go from adolescent to adults. Williams would have eaten up these mostly fastball pitches of today. Plus, if you ever tried to dig in as a batter the pitcher would put the ball between your ears. Knocking down batters was prevalent back then as the pitches ruled both sides of the plate.
#5 - Thu Jul 2, 2009 5:52 PM EDTI would say no; there's too many variables working against the hitter in today's game. You could face up to 5 different pitchers in a single 9 inning game, each one fresh, and with a different style and favorite pitch. You could also be walked intentionally, and often, as the scientific aspect of today's game usually dictates. And, as mentioned in earlier comments, are today's players really that motivated to try for this elusive number?
Think about it. You can make a ton of money playing the game you love with the usual media attention, or you could try for the magic .400 and be suffocated by a relentless media that's going to make your life unbearable. I think most players would opt for the former.
#7 - Sun Jul 5, 2009 11:32 AM EDTYes there will be another .400 hitter - but not until Preparation "I" is invented.
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I think there is too much media and too much pressure to pull it off now.
I agree with the article about the closers making this impossible