Jesus Sucre is on the verge of a short but special season. The Mariners catcher is currently 12 for 25 on the season, a .480 BA. In 1957, Bob Hazle hit .403 in 134 at bats, the most AB for a .400 batting average since Ted Williams in 1941. Since Hazle, 32 batters hit .400 with at least 25 at bats, about one every other season. Very few have come close to the .480 mark, however. Rudy Pemberton hit .512 in 1996 in 41 AB, maybe the most remarkable post Hazle batting average. Cameron Maybin went 16 for 32 in 2008. Craig Wilson hit .468 with 47 AB in 1998 as an old rookie. (He went 11 for 18 against LHP.) Sucre can go 0 for 5 and still hit .400 for the season.

On a side note, an earlier comment today pointed out that Joey Votto hit .400 in his last 77 games. Votto owns one of the highest BABIP among active players, and I’ve thought for a while that he could hit .400 if he reduced his strikeouts. During this stretch, he is striking out once every 6.75 at bats. For his career, he strikes out once every 4.47 at bats. It was Miguel Cabrera reducing his Ks that bumped up his batting average and allowed him to win a triple crown. Maybe Votto will take this to the next level and hit .400 for a season.