I know there are a lot of theories as to why the .400 hitter has not happened in a seriously long time. In fact, the last person to do it was Ted Willimas in 1941. I have my own theories.
I don't think that the pitching is a variable that should be of considerable discussion. I think there are some unbelievable arms throwing today. I also think that bullpens are a part of baseball moreso than they were in yesteryear. The bullpen issue is a double edged sword when it comes to arguing this case. The closers that most teams have are legitimate late inning arms that are very difficult to hit against. These one inning specialists have nasty changeups, nasty sliders and overpowering fastballs. I would contend that these specialists would make it harder to hit .400. But, in that bullpen are middle inning guys that certainly wouldn't qualify as "tough" arms to hit against. For argument sake, let's say that this dichotomy in the bullpen effectively negates the pitching argument.
So, if the pitching isn't harder, is the hitting weaker? No. Plain and simple- no. There are video advantages that players have today that give them advantages that older players didn't have. Also, I think a claim could be made that hitters are bigger and stronger than they were at one time. Shouldn't bigger and stronger make it easier to hit?
So what is it?
I believe the .400 hitter is extinct for two primary reasons.
1) Team defense is dramatically better. There are fleet footed outfielders all over the field. There are slick fielding infielders that can cover more range on the infield than ever before. Plain and simple- there aren't as many holes out there to find.
2) Field maintenance is better. In past years, there was an opportunity every now and again for a bad hop single. Not anymore. For the most part, fields are so well kept that players simply can't rely on that bad hop to help boost the batting average.
The game is simply not the same game that was played years ago. Besides the obvious differences with players(size and speed and pitching beliefs, I believe that the fields that today's players play on affect batting average significantly.
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I know this may be stating the obvious but hitting for power is much more of a focus now. Many players were known to choke up to increase their chances of hitting the ball. Know players rarely choke up on the bat even in pitchers counts. They still have the thoughts of hitting the big homerun.
By the way I enjoy reading your posts. Just found them the other day and have read almost 3 months worth so far.
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