It’s time to officially call it like it is: Miami Marlins second baseman Luis Arraez is chasing baseball’s first .400 batting average since Ted Williams in 1941. After a 5-for-5 outburst against the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night, the 26-year-old is sitting at precisely .400 with 73 team games and 282 plate appearances in the books.
He’s almost halfway to a plateau that has been unreachable since World War II, since integration boosted the level of competition, since the sport took its full turn toward modernity.
MLB teams and hitters have embraced the run-scoring efficiency of power out of necessity.