The last major league hitter to hit .400 was Ted Williams in 1941. He won his first batting title in his age-22 season, hitting .406. Williams would win five batting titles in his career, but 1941 was the first and last time he hit over .400.

The days of the .400 hitter were numbered in the major leagues. The home run and stolen base era produced records like 130 home runs in a single season (Rickey Henderson in 1982), 73 home runs (Barry Bonds in 2001), and 40 home runs and 40 doubles (Jose Canseco in 1988, Barry Bonds in 1996, Alex Rodriguez in 1998, and Alfonso Soriano in 2006), but no player ever hit .400. The quadruple slugger has become something you hear about, but never see.

There were players who tried to find an oasis. In 1980, George Brett of the Kansas City Royals was batting .400 for the season through September 20 (.39950 to be exact). With the Royals in position to hit .400 heading into the season finale, it looked like they finally had a successor to Williams. But Brett went just 4-for-27 (.148) over the next seven games, dropping his season average to .384. Over his final six games, he went 19-for-10 (.526), but he never recovered his season average (.390).

The next player to follow Brett’s lead was Tony Gwynn in 1994, who was batting .382 through mid-July, but turned it up as the season progressed. After July 10, he went 49-for-115 in 29 games, batting .426 during that stretch. On August 12, Gwynn, who was batting .394 for the season, was no longer in contention as the season was halted by the players’ strike.

After Brett in 1980 and Gwynn in 1994, no strong candidates emerged. Larry Walker’s .379 batting average in 1999 was the closest. Every year, there’s a hitter who breaks .400, but it doesn’t last long. Before we knew it, the oasis had turned into a mirage.

It seemed like the 4% batting average was immortalized. But this year, a player came along who brought back the forgotten .400 average. Luis Araujo of the Miami Marlins.

Araujo made his debut with the Minnesota Twins in 2019 and got off to a rocky start. In his first 25 games, he batted .405. As his plate appearances increased and he began to analyze opposing pitchers, his batting average slowed. However, Arajes finished the season with a .334 batting average, marking him as an unusually accurate hitter.

Last year, Arajes led the American League in batting average (.316), but the most significant statistic was his 144 games played. Araújo’s nagging knee and hamstring injuries have caused him to miss a lot of time, but training with Nelson Cruz before last season has improved his durability. He advised him on his diet and helped him strengthen his lower body. This allowed him to have a healthy season, and with a stronger lower body, he was able to keep his batting form steady.

Araes also visited Cruz’s home last winter. “It’s time to build strength,” Cruz told him. Building muscle was harder than losing weight, but Araes trusted Cruz’s grueling training regimen. “The hitting mechanics, the hitting technique, he was already a good player,” Cruz said, “so what he needed was to understand his body to continue to hit well.”

Araúez’s physique changed over the winter, and so did the team he would play for during the season. When Minnesota acquired starting pitcher Pablo Lopez, they sent him to Miami. Despite the move from the American League to the National League, Araes was fortunate to have a new team in Miami. Miami is a favorite among Hispanic players.

After a multi-hit game in the opener, Araúez had four hits in the third game. On April 12 against the Philadelphia Phillies, he also had Miami’s first hit for the cycle. Araújo’s batting average dropped to .371 in late May, but he turned it up on June 4 against the Oakland Athletics, completing his first five-hit game of the season. He had three more five-hit games in a 14-game stretch from June 4 to June 20, returning to a .400 batting average for the season.

Araúez’s majesty is also evident in his metrics. Araúez is the only hitter with a single-digit swinging strike rate at the plate. While LA Dodgers outfielder James Outman has a 40.1% swing rate, Araújo has a 7.1% swing rate.

Lowest Swing Rate (%) for 2023 Rules Hitters

12.9 – Alex Verdugo
11.4 – Steven Kwan
10.7 – Nico Horner
7.1 – Luis Araes

Pitchers throw pitches outside the strike zone to avoid Arajes, who is at the peak of his power. However, Arajes walks on these pitches and gets hits. Araes is the only hitter in the league with a high percentage of strike zone contacts, as well as a high percentage of out-of-zone contacts.

Strike Zone Contact Percentage (%)

94.5 – Luis Araes
94.2 – Nico Horner
93.7 – Alex Verdugo

Out-of-zone contacts (%)

88.3 – Luis Araes
77.8 – Miles Stroh
77.1 – Nico Horner

This year, Major League Baseball has a league average batting average of .248. That’s up from .243 last year, when it was an extreme slugger, but it’s still close to a slugger. Of the 155 batters who have gotten regular at-bats, only eight have hit over .300. Araes, meanwhile, is currently batting .399 and chasing his dream .400 average. The oddsmakers are even giving Araes a very high probability of succeeding.

Batting average rankings for the 2023 season

0.399 – Luis Araes
0.328 – Ronald Acuña Jr.
0.319 – Austin Hayes

Another weapon in Araúez’s arsenal is mental. He’s getting a lot of attention right now, but he doesn’t get overwhelmed by the attention. In fact, he’s recently been known to return to the dugout with a smile on his face, even when he’s out. “I try to get a hit every day,” he said in an interview. If I get five at-bats, I’m going to get five hits.” It’s clear that he’s driven to hit.온라인바카라

This year, the Major Leagues will see the return of the elusive four-hole hitter, and we wonder if Araúez, who is breaking new ground in hitting, can join the ranks of Ted Williams. Here’s hoping the oasis doesn’t turn into a mirage.