Levi Meyerle
Who's the dapper-looking gentleman who obviously isn't from modern times? His name is Levi Meyerle, and I'll get to his story shortly.
But first, the career of Levi Meyerle. He played 8 seasons, from 1871-1877, and 1884 (when he had 11 ABs). He was a career .356 hitter with 513 hits. He won two batting titles, one in 1871 and one in 1874. I'm focusing on the batting title from 1871.
And now, the moment we've all been waiting for...
Like I said, Levi Meyerle debuted in 1871, and won the batting title. Unfortunately, in the 1870s, there was no Rookie of the Year award for him to win. But he did do something much more impressive than win a ROY. Whilst playing for the Philadelphia Athletics, Meyerle batted .492 in 130 at-bats. This 1871 season made Long Levi the first player to hit .400 against pro pitching.
Very few players have hit .400 in a season (please tell me the exact number if you know), and the feat was last accomplished by Ted Williams in 1941. I think it's safe to say that nobody will ever hit .400 again in the majors.
Adieu Levi Meyerle, adieu.
Yeah, Levi Meyerle is cool.
ReplyDeleteI have no doubt we will see more .400 batters; when, I cannot say, but someday. George Brett hit .390 , Tony Gwynn hit .394, Ichiro &Todd Helton hit .372, Larry Walker hit .379 - if Andres Galarraga could hit .370 one year, a great hitter could hit .400 in a hitter's era in a hitter's park. The future is a long time. (We hope.)