Los Angeles Dodgers: Could Cody Bellinger bat .400?

It’s early, but the Los Angeles Dodgers star is profiling positively in many key indicators

For major league hitters, a .400 batting average is the unreachable goal.

It has been so for more than three-quarters of a century, nobody achieving it since Ted Williams batted .406 in 1941.

In fact, it’s been a quarter century since anybody even made a serious run at a .400 batting average. The last player who had a plausible chance to do so was Tony Gwynn, who won the 1994 batting title at .394.

That was Gwynn’s average when the mid-August player strike halted play, eventually resulting in the cancellation of the remainder of the season. Whether Gwynn might have attained that .400 mark had play been resumed will never be known.

As the 2019 season reaches the one-month mark, it’s just possible that visions of a .400 hitter might be revitalized. Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder-first baseman Cody Bellinger completed play Thursday batting .426.

Bellinger, who has played in all but one of his team’s games, his failed to hit safely only three times. But beyond the mere numbers, Bellinger is also showing other attributes required of a very high-average hitter.

Obviously, there’s far too much of the season yet to be played to actually forecast that Bellinger can maintain his lofty average. At the same time, one month provides enough to compare Bellinger with  those who have made such a serious run.

Let’s assess the skill set  that has propelled Bellinger thus far against five others – Williams, Gwynn, Rod Carew, George Brett and Ichiro Suzuki – who made a run at .400. Doing so may illuminate just how seriously to take the Dodger’s hot start as a harbinger of a banner season.