Baseball has a problem.
More and more teams are using data and statistics to determine the best course of action on the field. It’s called Sabermetrics, but you know it as Moneyball.
Moneyball has put an emphasis on the Home Run. The unintended consequence? Strikeouts sky rocketing, batting averages in free fall.
The Brewers offense has spent the better part of the month of May wasting dominant pitching performances. But the Brewers, are not alone.
The lowest team batting average for a season in the American League: .212 by the 1910 Chicago White Sox. In the National League: .207 by the Washington Nationals in 1888.
The Seattle Mariners are currently hitting .198 on the season.
There have also been six official no-hitters this year, including two in back-to-back days earlier this week. That’s just two away from the all-time record and it’s not even Memorial Day.
In 1968, the league average was .237, lowest of all time. It was a number viewed so poorly, that in the following season Major League Baseball lowered the mound and tightened the strike zone.
The league average this season? One point lower than the worst ever.
.240 hitters should not be above-average ball players. Baseball has a problem…and it must be addressed.