Chipper and .400
In the first three games of the series in Pittsburgh, the Braves managed to score 4, combined, then busted out for 8 runs in game four. Mark Teixeira went down with back pains in the first game. Tim Hudson did the stopper thing in the second game. Still, our 10-2 win in Washington and our 8-0 in Miami didn’t prove to be sparks to our road offense, so we can only hope that this time we finally figured it out.
Since it was such an ugly series, let’s talk about more positive things.
Will Chipper Hit .400?
Chipper went 4 for 8 on the doubleheader to end the day at .406. People are starting to ask: will Chipper hit .400 this year?
The case against Chipper is reality. The case for Chipper is basically, “Dude, that would be awesome.” Then again…
His April gave him a huge head start and he’s coming off of a season in which he hit .337 and was one hit away from the batting title. Additionally, as he has Teixeira hitting behind him all season, he’s going to see better pitches to hit all year long. Even with Tex starting a little slow, no one wants to be the guy he breaks out against.
Among the last players to seriously flirt with .400 is George Brett who hit .390 in 1980. Brett was a career .305 hitter (compare to Jones’ .309) whose next highest average season was .333 in 1976. Tony Gwynn also flirted with .400 in 1994, finishing the shortened season at .394. Gwynn was a career .338 hitter and a more likely candidate than Brett. Nonetheless, it was an outlier of a season for both of the players who have come closest in recent history, and it would be an outlier of a season for Chipper. Still, based on these guys’ numbers, it would foolish to say that Chipper can’t do it just because he is a career .309 hitter.
Still, .400 is a monumental stat because it’s an endurance stat. Essentially it means you go 2 for 5 every single game for 162 games. You can’t afford to go 1 for 4 for a week. And you can only imagine the mental burden it would be to carry a .400 average into July, August, and September.
I think we can easily expect a career-best season from Chipper. I don’t see him tanking at any point; that’s not his style. Considering how far ahead he is at this point, the batting title is his to lose. But .400 is a long, long shot. I’ll be rooting for him, but I won’t be putting my money on it.
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