Back in My Day: Wild Ted Williams-Mookie Betts stat puts hitting into whole new context

Technically, according to the record books, Josh Gibson was the most recent hitter to hold a batting average of .400 in a single season. But the player that most fans attribute with this feat is Boston Red Sox legend Ted Williams.

The difficulty of hitting has changed quite a bit since the days when Gibson and Williams were able to achieve this great feat. Analytics have taken over the game these days. Not only are analytics important in the development of pitchers and their pitches, but they're also important in the approach that pitchers and managers take against hitters.

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Wild stat adds new wrinkle to the difficulty of hitting in the big leagues

There have been a few hitters to flirt with the idea of hitting .400, but they always fizzle out well before the season ends.

As more stats and facts emerge from the two different time periods, it becomes more apparent as to why it will never happen again. It also proves why league batting average is down and strikeouts are up.

Ted Williams saw 74 different pitchers in the 1941 season in which he hit .406. Last season, Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts saw four times as many pitchers over the course of the season. That's the level at which the game has evolved over the course of 80 years.

Being able to see the same pitchers over and over again makes hitting so much easier. Hitters get used to their timing, velocity, pitch shapes and the way they attack. It's the exact same reason that managers are pulling pitchers before they see a lineup three or four times.

AL Cy Young favorite Tarik Skubal has been dominant this year. He allows a slash line of .169/.218/.277 the second time through the lineup, but a much more human line of .256/.302/.426 the third time through.

Hitters hit significantly better when they've seen a pitcher multiple times through. The same can be said way back in the 1940s as well. Managers and players just didn't have the analytical data to back it up.

If Ted Williams played in today's game, he would be forced to see a lot more pitchers including a ton more left-on-left action to platoon against him a bit. Williams still hit .312 for his career against southpaws, but it's way down from his .350 career average against righties.

Combine this with the fact that pitchers are throwing harder than ever with more movement than ever and you have a recipe for low batting averages.

Ted Williams' .406 season and Josh Gibson's .466 season will likely stand the test of time as the last two times in MLB history that a player recorded a batting average over .400 in a single season.