Book Excerpts


	Benchmark Statistics Back to Table of Contents . . . While there are several factors that can either inflate or undercut one’s batting average, it is a figure that has withstood the test of time. Poor hitters who come close to batting only .200 (“two hundred”) are said to flirt with the “Mendoza Line.” Though the Line is widely known to be named after Mario Mendoza, it could have just as easily been in tribute to Minnie or Carlos Mendoza. The three weren’t brothers, but they shared a last name and an eerie inability to hit the baseball very often. At the other end of the spectrum, Hall of Famer Ted Williams hit .406 (“four-oh-six”) while playing for Boston in 1941. This is just before he took a four-year break from the game to serve in World War II. Breaking the .400 mark is an accomplishment that, like Williams himself, stands frozen in time. A player like Williams is helpful to his team because his high average shows an ability to get on base often. And if a player can get on base, he can score runs. The more often he’s on base, the more often he’ll score. It’s that simple. Lots of guys with high batting averages also score the most runs. Williams topped the league in batting average seven times and runs scored six times during his career. Conversely, a career’s worth of runs from all three Mendozas still didn’t surpass the number of runs Ted Williams scored in a typical season.. . . *** * *** What do you want to do now? 1) Back to Interactive Table of Contents 2) Buy autographed books, Savvy Girls shirts, Scorebooks and Quarterly Magazine from this site 3) Buy book at: 4) Send a nice e-mail to Deidre and Jackie!
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