A .300 hitter has become a rare sight in baseball, largely due to the rise in pitch speeds, with 100 mph fastballs now common.
“When I got in the league, I’d still see a lot of guys throwing 89, 91,” said Baltimore Orioles All-Star slugger Anthony Santander. That’s not the case anymore.
The major league batting average is expected to end up around .243 or .244, down from .248 last year. Three of the last four years have some of the lowest batting averages since the end of the Dead Ball Era, along with 1967, 1968, and 1972.
The minor league average has also decreased to .242 from .249 last year.
Four-seam fastballs are averaging a record 94.3 mph, up from 94.2 mph last season and from 91.9 mph when tracking began in 2008.
“Reaction time is a lot less when everybody is throwing harder,” said Philadelphia outfielder Nick Castellanos. “Your intent has to be ready for a certain spot. … Coming up, when a guy was 89, 91, there was more of a window to see and react.”
Only seven qualified batters were on pace to hit .300 or better as the season neared its end, one more than the record low in 1968, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. This is down from nine last year, 11 in 2022, and 14 in 2021.
There were 34 players hitting .300 or better in 2008 and 55 in 1999 during the Steroids Era.
Luis Arraez’s .312 average would be the lowest for an NL batting champion.
“You see electric arms all the time,” said Mets star Pete Alonso. “You see guys every day that throw 97, 98, 99.”
Yet, the use of four-seam fastballs has dropped to 31.7%, the lowest since tracking began. Cut fastballs have risen to 8% from 4.8% in 2008, and many pitchers are now using a wider variety of pitches.
