MLB: Donovan Solano, Charlie Blackmon the last of the .400 hitters

If ever an MLB player was going to take a run at a .400 batting average for a full season, it would be this year. However, only Donovan Solano and Charlie Blackmon are left with a batting average over .400.

Certain numbers are magical in baseball – 61, 755, .400. Those numbers have a life of their own, MLB benchmarks that do not need an explanation amongst even casual fans. Those numbers truly transcend the game.

It was thought that, if ever it was going to happen, the abbreviated season could lead to a player hitting .400. That mark has not been reached since Ted Williams batted .406 in 1941, a year in which he also led the AL in walks, homers, and runs scored (and struck out just 27 times) but finished second in the MVP balloting. George Brett in 1980 and Tony Gwynn in 1994 had made a serious run at that mark, but neither were successful, falling just short.

But it has not taken long for that idea to fall by the wayside. Just two and a half weeks into the season, only two players – Donovan Solano and Charlie Blackmon – still have a batting average over .400.

Solano has been a complete shock this season. He had essentially been middle infield depth, failing to see major league action in either 2017 or 2018. His five previous years had been mediocre at best offensively, as he produced a .257/.306/.331 batting line with nine homers and 40 doubles in 1168 plate appearances.

Called up by the Giants last year due to an incredible rash of injuries, Solano unexpectedly became a viable hitter, setting career bests in virtually every category despite having just 228 plate appearances. That surprising run has continued into this season, as Solano had posted a .462 batting average heading into Sunday.

Blackmon, meanwhile, has had some major league success. A four time All Star and two time Silver Slugger, he won the 2017 batting title with a .331 average. He is currently second in the NL with a .446 batting average, but leads the league with 25 hits. Should that remain the case, it would be the second time that Blackmon led the league in hits, having done so in 2017.

The fact that only two MLB players remain with a .400 batting average on Sunday shows how difficult it is to reach that mark. Even with just over two weeks having been played, only two players have managed to stay over that mark. Yes, Robinson Cano and Jose Iglesias are also over that mark, but neither have played enough to qualify for the batting title.

After just over two weeks, only two MLB players – Donovan Solano and Charlie Blackmon – are still over .400. It just goes to show that, even in a 60 game schedule, batting .400 is an incredibly difficult task.