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Hanley is currently leadings the NL with a .351 batting average. Impressive, but far from .400.
But could he hit that mark?
From here on out, Hanley should get some 150 abs. If we assume that exact number, to get to .400 he would have to get 80 more hits, or a .533 batting average.
How unprecedented is that?
Only two times since 1969 has a player finished a month with a .500 or better average: Todd Helton in 2000 (.512) and Pudge Rodriguez in 2004 (.500). A couple other close calls were George Brett (.494, 1980) and Rob Carew (.486, 1977).
Not only that, but that was only during a month. Hanley would have to sustain that productivity for a month and a half. Improbable? Yeah. But impossible? No.
And while Hanley is currently hitting .400 so far this month, he's only finished above .400 for a month once in his career (.424, July 2007).
Now one of the more interesting things is Hanley's drop in HRs. His HR/FB% is down over 7%, from 19.2% to 12.1%. Now, hanley's drop in power is due to some mechanical changes, which also allowed him to have a better ability to hit for BABIP. So, it's really a choice of one or the other, you can't have the best of both worlds. But, since this is just a "having fun with numbers", we're going to have the best of both world. If Hanley were able to sustain his previous HR/FB with his new BABIP, he'd have 10 more hits. In other words, he'd be hitting .376, making his journey for .400 a lot more likely. As he matures could he combine both his BABIP talent and HR talent? Possible, and by god look out if he does.
Now one can't bring up .400 for Hanley without bringing up the major league leader in batting average, Joe Mauer. He's currently hitting .367 and also has over 70 less AB then Hanley, meaning 1 hit (or out) has a higher impact. For Mauer to get to the .400 mark, again assuming 150 ABs, he'd have to "just" hit .473.
But could he hit that mark?
From here on out, Hanley should get some 150 abs. If we assume that exact number, to get to .400 he would have to get 80 more hits, or a .533 batting average.
How unprecedented is that?
Only two times since 1969 has a player finished a month with a .500 or better average: Todd Helton in 2000 (.512) and Pudge Rodriguez in 2004 (.500). A couple other close calls were George Brett (.494, 1980) and Rob Carew (.486, 1977).
Not only that, but that was only during a month. Hanley would have to sustain that productivity for a month and a half. Improbable? Yeah. But impossible? No.
And while Hanley is currently hitting .400 so far this month, he's only finished above .400 for a month once in his career (.424, July 2007).
Now one of the more interesting things is Hanley's drop in HRs. His HR/FB% is down over 7%, from 19.2% to 12.1%. Now, hanley's drop in power is due to some mechanical changes, which also allowed him to have a better ability to hit for BABIP. So, it's really a choice of one or the other, you can't have the best of both worlds. But, since this is just a "having fun with numbers", we're going to have the best of both world. If Hanley were able to sustain his previous HR/FB with his new BABIP, he'd have 10 more hits. In other words, he'd be hitting .376, making his journey for .400 a lot more likely. As he matures could he combine both his BABIP talent and HR talent? Possible, and by god look out if he does.
Now one can't bring up .400 for Hanley without bringing up the major league leader in batting average, Joe Mauer. He's currently hitting .367 and also has over 70 less AB then Hanley, meaning 1 hit (or out) has a higher impact. For Mauer to get to the .400 mark, again assuming 150 ABs, he'd have to "just" hit .473.
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