IS THERE HOPE?
I would love to see someone hit .400 as I think it would be great for baseball. Mauer and Ichiro both have one thing going for them in that they both know how to handle the pressures of a batting race. Ichiro won batting titles in 2001 (.350) and .2004 (.372), and Mauer won in 2006 (.347) and 2008 (.328). But that’s still a long way from .400.

Talking to Mauer during a recent homestand, he said he was amazed at the attention he was getting even though it was only June. He’s a great kid and it means a lot to him, but he isn’t going to get too excited about it unless he’s still around .400 come September. It’s a long season, and with everything he has to do as a catcher, the grind takes its toll. He has to focus on handling the pitching staff and calling games, and he gets beat up back there all season long. And remember, no catcher has ever hit .400.

If anyone is going to do it in this era, I think you have to look at Ichiro. He’s a little bit like Carew in that he can hit to all fields and use his speed to beat out a lot of infield hits. There are so many ways he can get on base.

Ichiro might also be better equipped to handle an expected media crush. He would do all of his interviews with English-speaking media members through an interpreter, and has years of experience in handling the Japanese media.

One other player to keep in mind is Albert Pujols. I think he has the capabilities. He’s probably the best hitter in the game today, a power-hitter with skills similar to Ted Williams. He has topped .350 twice in his nine seasons, with his worst season for batting average coming in 2002 at .314.

But as much as great as these guys are, and as much as I’d like to see it happen, I just think it is too difficult to accomplish in this era.

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