200 Hits
Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2018 9:12 am
There is a lot of talk about Starters in pitchers throwing less innings. And they are.
During the regular season, pitch count rules supreme.
During the post-season, Managers seem to trust matchups more than Starters and are in a hurry to begin a bullpen parade.
Let's just say, Starters are less relevant than at any time in MLB history.
What about offensively?
Is there a statistic that is slowly fading away due to modern day strategies?
There is.
1930 may have been the greatest hitting year in baseball history.
Bill Terry hit .401
Five hitters hit above .380
And get this, 89 of a qualified 168 qualifying batters hit over .300!
That's right. Over half the league hit .300 and much more.
It was the year that Hack Wilson drove in 190 and hit 56 homers (which got him in the Hall of Fame alone)
The Babe hit 49.
Here is Chuck Klein's line from that year...Imagine this on your fantasy team....
.386/158/40/170/4
Only 154 game schedules were played, but 20 batters had 200 hits.
It is that 200 hit season that is fading from baseball.
There are many reasons....
1.For left handed batters, the shift is taking away hits.
2.Most ball players today are adjusting swings for power, not base hits.
3.Some players are looking to take a base on balls, rather than hit.
4.More players are platooned now than ever before.
5.And if not platooned, players are 'rested' now more than ever before.
Zero players had 200 hits in 2018.
Whit Merrifield's 192 hits was the lowest mark to lead the MLB in a season this century.
Hardly anybody noticed.
During the last six years, the 200 hit barrier has been broken 12 times.
Four of those times, it was the same player.
Jose Altuve.
In 1968, baseball had its 'Year of the Pitcher'.
Bob Gibson had a 1.12 ERA
Eight pitchers had an ERA under 2.00
50 pitchers had an era under 3.00
Still, there were two 200 hit players.
Pete Rose and Felipe Alou.
Speaking of Pete Rose, he had 10 200 hit seasons.
Incredibly, Rose is the last Cincinnati Reds player to have 200 hits.
Think about that. Bench, Morgan, Foster, Eric Davis, Larkin, and Joey Votto.
None, with 200 hits.
Larkin and Votto both topped out at 185 hits.
The last Minnesota Twin to have 200 hits in a season was in their dugout this past year.
And won't be this year.
No, his name is not Joe Mauer.
It was Paul Molitor.
The Tampa Bay Rays have NEVER had a player with 200 hits. And most likely, never will.
The last Dodgers player to have 200 hits?
Adrian Beltre.
The last Orioles player?
Miguel Tejada.
The last White Sox player?
Albert Belle.
No Washington Nationals player has had 200 hits.
But, Vladimir Guerrero was the last player in 'franchise' history to have 200 hits.
Other little known players like Freddy Sanchez of the Pirates, Rich Aurilia with the Giants, and Mark Loretta with the Padres were the last to have 200 hits for their teams.
It takes a certain kind of hitter to reach 200 hits in these times.
He can't be looking for home runs. The home run has to be the by-product of hitting the ball hard.
It also takes a hitter who is not too picky about balls and strikes.
Players are lauded (way too much today) for their batting eyes.
200- hit players like Altuve, Rose, Dee Gordon, and Ichiro were less picky about the pitches they were hitting.
Their mindset was that if the ball is a few inches off the plate, they can still do their magic. No drawback.
Players coming up through baseball now are having it pounded into them to lay off any pitch not in the zone.
The 200-hit hitter is doing a slow fade. It is true that throughout MLB seasons, the 200-hit player has appeared and disappeared.
But. with the money grab of home runs, shifts, platoons, 'resting' of players, and players being instructed to take more pitches, the mortality rate of 200-hit hitters is on the decline.
It's too bad.
Like 300 lifetime Wins and 20 Win seasons on the pitching side, It is an offensive round number that will be missed.
During the regular season, pitch count rules supreme.
During the post-season, Managers seem to trust matchups more than Starters and are in a hurry to begin a bullpen parade.
Let's just say, Starters are less relevant than at any time in MLB history.
What about offensively?
Is there a statistic that is slowly fading away due to modern day strategies?
There is.
1930 may have been the greatest hitting year in baseball history.
Bill Terry hit .401
Five hitters hit above .380
And get this, 89 of a qualified 168 qualifying batters hit over .300!
That's right. Over half the league hit .300 and much more.
It was the year that Hack Wilson drove in 190 and hit 56 homers (which got him in the Hall of Fame alone)
The Babe hit 49.
Here is Chuck Klein's line from that year...Imagine this on your fantasy team....
.386/158/40/170/4
Only 154 game schedules were played, but 20 batters had 200 hits.
It is that 200 hit season that is fading from baseball.
There are many reasons....
1.For left handed batters, the shift is taking away hits.
2.Most ball players today are adjusting swings for power, not base hits.
3.Some players are looking to take a base on balls, rather than hit.
4.More players are platooned now than ever before.
5.And if not platooned, players are 'rested' now more than ever before.
Zero players had 200 hits in 2018.
Whit Merrifield's 192 hits was the lowest mark to lead the MLB in a season this century.
Hardly anybody noticed.
During the last six years, the 200 hit barrier has been broken 12 times.
Four of those times, it was the same player.
Jose Altuve.
In 1968, baseball had its 'Year of the Pitcher'.
Bob Gibson had a 1.12 ERA
Eight pitchers had an ERA under 2.00
50 pitchers had an era under 3.00
Still, there were two 200 hit players.
Pete Rose and Felipe Alou.
Speaking of Pete Rose, he had 10 200 hit seasons.
Incredibly, Rose is the last Cincinnati Reds player to have 200 hits.
Think about that. Bench, Morgan, Foster, Eric Davis, Larkin, and Joey Votto.
None, with 200 hits.
Larkin and Votto both topped out at 185 hits.
The last Minnesota Twin to have 200 hits in a season was in their dugout this past year.
And won't be this year.
No, his name is not Joe Mauer.
It was Paul Molitor.
The Tampa Bay Rays have NEVER had a player with 200 hits. And most likely, never will.
The last Dodgers player to have 200 hits?
Adrian Beltre.
The last Orioles player?
Miguel Tejada.
The last White Sox player?
Albert Belle.
No Washington Nationals player has had 200 hits.
But, Vladimir Guerrero was the last player in 'franchise' history to have 200 hits.
Other little known players like Freddy Sanchez of the Pirates, Rich Aurilia with the Giants, and Mark Loretta with the Padres were the last to have 200 hits for their teams.
It takes a certain kind of hitter to reach 200 hits in these times.
He can't be looking for home runs. The home run has to be the by-product of hitting the ball hard.
It also takes a hitter who is not too picky about balls and strikes.
Players are lauded (way too much today) for their batting eyes.
200- hit players like Altuve, Rose, Dee Gordon, and Ichiro were less picky about the pitches they were hitting.
Their mindset was that if the ball is a few inches off the plate, they can still do their magic. No drawback.
Players coming up through baseball now are having it pounded into them to lay off any pitch not in the zone.
The 200-hit hitter is doing a slow fade. It is true that throughout MLB seasons, the 200-hit player has appeared and disappeared.
But. with the money grab of home runs, shifts, platoons, 'resting' of players, and players being instructed to take more pitches, the mortality rate of 200-hit hitters is on the decline.
It's too bad.
Like 300 lifetime Wins and 20 Win seasons on the pitching side, It is an offensive round number that will be missed.