Kuri and I have both given you our take on hitting .400, and now I want to ask the next question:
Which is more impressive, a single season mark like a 56 game hitting streak, 61 home runs or .400 batting average? Or is a career achievement like 755 homers, 1406 stolen bases, or a career .338 BA (Tony Gwynn).
The way baseball fans (and players) have played the game, I think, says a lot about what we value.
Through the first half of the 20th century, endurance and effort were supremely valued characteristics. Only the team with the best record played in the postseason, while hitters aspired to achieve season-long milestones: to bat .300, to strike out few times, to win 20 games. In the second half of the century, brief but brilliant play consumed the media spotlight. Mickey Mantle brought the tape measure home run into vogue in a way unlike any player since Babe Ruth; playoff series allow a 'hot' team to unseat the marathon winner; games were trimmed to fit in a highlight reel.
This may actually say as much about the development of media technology- when the average fans could only follow their team in the morning papers, it was much harder to convey the excitement of a long drive, but a 450 footer can be played on a loop in the television era.
But fans respond to the content that excites them, and the format grows to meet demand.
So what do you value? What record would you be most excited to see fall?