Baseball's Holy Grail: hitting .400 in a season: Rod Carew, George Brett and Tony Gwynn were some who challenged the mark, but came up short

Baseball Digest, Sept, 2008 by Gerry Fraley

TONY GWYNN'S FIRST RUN AT .400 is well-documented. He was hitting .394 in 1994 when a players' strike shut down the game.

His second try has been overlooked.

Gwynn ended his career in 2001 as a gimpy part-timer with San Diego. A two-hit game August 11 lifted his average to .389, in a meager 79 plate appearances and raised hopes for a farewell .400 season.

Gwynn didn't make it: He finished at .324.

"Even with only 100 at-bats, (hitting .400) is hard," Gwynn said before his Hall of Fame induction. "It's very difficult."

So difficult that only 10 players have hit .400 with at least 100 plate appearances in a season. (Hall of Fame pitcher Walter Johnson leads, having batted .433 in 107 plate appearances in 1925. Bob "Hurricane" Hazle is the most recent, hitting .403 for 155 plate appearances in 1957.)

So difficult that no one has done it while qualifying for the batting title--3.1 plate appearances per team game played--since Hall of Famer Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941.

A new challenger stepped forward this season: Atlanta's Chipper Jones.

He was hitting .421 on June 6, but slipped to .400 on June 18, and after an 0-for-4 game against Texas, he was at .394 on June 19, the first time he was below .400 since April 12. Jones, through his first 71 games of the season, went hitless in only 14 of those contests.

"It would be tough to go a full season," said Rockies first baseman Todd Helton, who hit .400 through June 10 when he won the National League batting title at .372 in 2000. "But he is swinging the heck out of it."

It takes more than a swing. A look at the factors that will determine whether anyone, can hit .400 for a full season:

IMPROVE THE ODDS

Fewer at-bats improve the chances of reaching .400. Pete Rose proved that. Rose is the all-time hits leader, but he never came close to .400 because he had too many chances. Rose had more than 600 at-bats in 17 seasons and needed 200 hits just to get into the .330s.

"Going 200-for-600 is hard enough," Rose once said. "I think it's impossible for somebody to go 200-for-500. I cannot not conceive of that."

It becomes more realistic for a hitter in the 400-plus at-bats range. Williams had 456 at-bats in 1941. George Brett had 449 at-bats when he hit .390 in 1980.

Williams did it by getting walked 147 times. Brett missed chunks of the season because of heel, ankle and wrist injuries.

Jones will take the walk, as Williams did. He has had more than 90 walks in six of his past eight full seasons. Jones could miss time, as Brett did. Jones had more than 500 at-bats last season for the first time since 2003.

PICK A SIDE

The irony of this is, a switch-hitter's biggest strength may keep them from reaching .400. "

Jones ranks among the best switch-hitters in history. His ability to hit from both sides has given manager Bobby Cox an immense tactical advantage.

The only drawback is that switch-hitters usually don't hit for a high average.

Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle has the highest single-season average by a switch-hitter, .365 in 1957.

Since 1900, only eight switch-hitters have won a batting title: Mantle (1956), Pete Rose (1968, 1969, 1973), Willie Wilson (1982), Willie McGee (1985, 1990), Tim Raines (1986), Terry Pendleton (1991), Bernie Williams (1998) and Bill Mueller (2003).

Switch-hitters have the extra burden of keeping two swings intact throughout a full season. One side usually requires tinkering.

For Jones, that often has been his natural side, the right. He hasn't hit .300 from the right side since 2003.

FAMILIARITY

In 1941, American League teams other than Boston used a total of 101 pitchers for the season. After 65 games this season, Jones already had faced 101 pitchers.

It couldn't be determined how many of the 101 pitchers Williams faced in 1941, but he was familiar with many of them. Boston played 22 games against each of the other A.L. clubs.

Expansion, from 16 teams in Williams' era to 30, and interleague play have changed that dynamic. A year ago, Jones had more than eight at-bats against only three pitchers: Matt Chico, Oliver Perez and Dontrelle Willis.

In Williams' era, a starter was expected to go deep into the game. Now, a hitter in a single game will face several relievers, most of whom have a "trick" pitch such as a forkball.

"When you only see a guy once, it's really difficult," Texas hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo said. "The pitcher pitches his game. The hitter isn't sure what to look for."

SEPTEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Gwynn was getting better as the 1994 season progressed, batting .426 in his last 115 at-bats before the strike.

"I think I could have given it a run," Gwynn said. "But I don't know how I would have handled September."

Gwynn meant the media that would have followed his pursuit.

That was 1994, before the technology-driven explosion in media outlets. A horde will latch on to the next player to challenge .400. That will create distractions.

"It'll take a certain kind of personality to handle it," Gwynn said.

Brett is the last player to take a .400 average into September, in 1980. He had to alter his routine to accommodate daily news conferences to feed the media beast and "slipped" to .324 for the month. Brett had hit .430 or more in each of the previous three months.