Posted By:
Ted ZanidakisI hate to disagree with your.....
"second, as impressive as the 56 game hit streak is to me...
even more impressive is ted williams hitting .406 that year...(last person to hit .400 in a season).
given the choice, however, i'd take .406 on my resume any day over the hit streak."
I loved to watch Ted Williams play as much as I did Joe DiMaggio, when I was a kid. But, if we just
consider the 1941 season, Joe D. is my preference.
The subtle secret to batting .400 for any good hitter is to wait out the count and be willing to take
100+ Walks. Ted Williams (with his great batting eyes) had 145 Walks in 1941.
Theoretically, to qualify for .400 in the Official record book.....all you need is 160 Hits for 400 AB's.
It's tougher to get over 200 Hits; however, the subtle trick to batting .400 is to keep your AB's as
low as possible. You achieve this by getting a lot of Walks (which is usually easier). When George
Brett fell short of .400 (in 1980), he said that if he had more Walks, he would have batted .400 (he
had approx. 50 Walks that season).
TED Z