Last player to hit .400 since Ted Williams

[micsmith]

Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941, and we all know he was the last player to hit .400 THAT WAS ELIGIBLE TO WIN THE BATTING TITLE.

Williams hit over .400 again in 1953 when he hit .407 in 91 at bats - far too few to be eliglbe for the batting title that year.

And I'm sure there have been several other players since then who have hit .400 or better in limited play. What I want to know is this:

Of those player who have hit .400 or better since Williams did it in 1941, who had the most at bats? Or the most plate appearances? Was it Williams himself in 1953? Or was there another player who was still hitting over .400 and made it to 100 at bats, or even 200 at bats?

I guess another way of asking the same question is this:

If players only had to have a minimum of 100 at bats to be elgible for the batting title, then who was the last player to hit .400 or better in a season?

[Brooklyn]

Bob Hazle hit .403 in 134 at bats in 1957. Not sure if that was the most plate appearances, but it looks to be the most at bats

[dgarza]

I love this topic!

Maybe this belongs in "History"?

[Brooklyn]

The only other player I can find besides Hazle who hit over .400 for more then 76 at bats is Williams, so Hazle must be your answer

[RuthMayBond]

The only other player I can find besides Hazle who hit over .400 for more then 76 at bats is Williams, so Hazle must be your answer

Oops, please delete

[jalbright]

Transferred to History, as this is not a discussion about the HOF.

[dgarza]

Todd Hanley 1995 .411/.463/.603/73 AB/81 PA
Ted Williams 1953 .407/.509/.901/91 AB/110 PA
Phil Clark 1992 .407/.467/.537/54 AB/61 PA
Bob Hazle 1957 .403/.477/.649/134 AB/155 PA
Mike Davis 1982 .400/.416/.493/75 AB/77 PA

The previous player to bat .400+ with at least 90 ABs was... Walter Johnson 1925 .433/.455/.577/97 AB/107 PA

Ted Williams even received MVP votes in 1953. How many LFers have done that with less than 40 games?

[csh19792001]

Let's take it quite a bit further. How about .400 over a 162 game period?

Both Wade Boggs and Tony Gwynn hit .400 over 162 game periods, however it was over the course of two consecutive seasons.

For Boggs you got him in 163 team games. The actual dates are 6/13/85 to 6/8/86 in which he an average of .400 in 160 games played.

For Gwynn you have him down for 165 team games.

If you go from 7/4/93 to 7/2/94 I believe you get 162 team games and a .402 batting average for Gwynn.

Ichiro hit .429 after the All-Star Break in 2004.

[ipitch]

How about most ABs for a .500+, .600+, .700+ etc. hitter, since 1876?
.500+ 42 Gil Coan
.600+ 14 Nyls Nyman
.700+ 7 Joe Coleman
.800+ 5 Jeff Manto
.900+ 4 John Hale
1.000 4 John Hale
(other players are tied with some of guys)

[Honus Wagner Rules]

Also:

George Brett 1980
Brett was hitting .400 on September 19th with just 13 games left in the season. At that point he was 161 for 403 (.400). In his final 46 ABs he goes 14 for 46 (.304) I was just a 12 year old kid back then. That was an exciting time to watch Brett chase .400.

John Olerud 1993
Olerud was hitting .400 on August 2nd (146 for 365). he goes 54 for 186 (.290) the rest of the way.

Todd Helton 2000
Helton was hitting .399 (173 for 434) on August 18th, one hit shy of .400. He goes 43 for 146 (.294) the rest of the way.

Nomar Garciaparra 2000
No'mah! was at .403 on July 20th (112 for 278). He goes 85 for 251 (.340) the rest of the way.

Rod Carew 1997
Carew was hitting .403 on July 10th (128 for 317). He goes 111 for 299 (.371) the rest of the way

[Honus Wagner Rules]

The 10 highest batting champs since 1941

.394 Tony Gywnn 1994
.390 George Brett 1980
.388 Ted Williams 1958
.388 Rod Carew 1977
.379 Larry Walker 1999
.376 Stan Musial 1948
.372 Todd Helton 2000
.372 Nomar Gaciaparra 2000
.372 Ichiro Suzuki 2004
.372 Tony Gwynn 1997

[Paul Wendt]

How about most ABs for a .500+, .600+, .700+ etc. hitter, since 1876?

.600+ 14 Nyls Nyman
.700+ 7 Joe Coleman
.800+ 5 Jeff Manto
.900+ 4 John Hale
1.000 4 John Hale
(other players are tied with some of guys)

Although merely 3-for-3, Sparky Lyle is a remarkable example. OPS+ 452 in contrast to a whopping negative through his first four seasons.
His batting record after that career year ;-) is remarkable too. He didn't bat in a game for several years until traded to the National League (Phillies, too late in 1980 to play in October). In two swan song seasons 9 pa with 3 hits and 2 walks, .429 .556 .429. In the AL he walked three times in about 80 PA.

[RuthMayBond]

Although merely 3-for-3, Sparky Lyle is a remarkable example. OPS+ 452 in contrast to a whopping negative through his first four seasons.
His batting record after that career year ;-) is remarkable too. He didn't bat in a game for several years until traded to the National League (Phillies, too late in 1980 to play in October). In two swan song seasons 9 pa with 3 hits and 2 walks, .429 .556 .429. In the AL he walked three times in about 80 PA.

I always liked Terry Forster's career BA :bowdown::bowdown:

[125osprey]

It is pretty impressive, isn't it?