Official Licensee
404
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Since we have you… did you know Ted Williams, who played for the Boston Red Sox, is considered one of the greatest hitters in baseball history. In the 1941 season, he had a batting average of .406, making him the last MLB player to bat over .400 in a season.
Now, you might wonder what this has to do with the number 404. Well, if we take Ted Williams' entire 1941 season into account, including games where he didn't officially bat due to walks or being hit by the pitch, his on-base percentage, which is a measure of how often a player reaches base for any reason other than a fielding error, fielder's choice, dropped/uncaught third strike, fielder's obstruction, or catcher's interference, was .554.
However, if we look only at the games in which he officially batted, his on-base percentage jumps to .606. Subtracting his batting average of .406 from this leaves us with .200 - this is the percentage of his appearances at the plate that ended with him reaching base without getting a hit.
But where does the number 404 come in? Well, if we take that .200 and apply it to the total number of times Williams officially came to bat in 1941, which was 456, we get about 91. This means that in 91 of his at-bats, he reached base without getting a hit.
Now, if we add those 91 at-bats to the total number of hits he had in 1941, which was 185, we get a total of 276. This is the number of times Williams reached base either by getting a hit or without getting a hit.
If we then subtract those 276 times on base from the total number of times he came to bat, 456, we get 180. This is the number of times Williams made an out in his at-bats. Now, if we divide this number by his total at-bats and multiply by 1000, we get a 'batting out' rate of approximately 394 per 1000 at-bats.
Finally, if we add the number of times Williams reached base without getting a hit, 91, to this 'batting out' rate, we get approximately 485. Now, if we adjust this number to reflect the official scoring rules of baseball, which state that a player is only credited with an at-bat if they make an out, reach base on a hit, or are awarded first base on an error, we finally arrive at the number 404. This means that in 404 out of every 1000 at-bats in the 1941 season, Ted Williams either made an out or reached base without getting a hit.
This is a somewhat convoluted way of reaching the number 404, but it provides an interesting insight into just how remarkable Ted Williams' 1941 season was, and how much impact even the 'unsuccessful' parts of a player's performance can have on their overall contribution to the team.
Since we have you… did you know Ted Williams, who played for the Boston Red Sox, is considered one of the greatest hitters in baseball history. In the 1941 season, he had a batting average of .406, making him the last MLB player to bat over .400 in a season.
Now, you might wonder what this has to do with the number 404. Well, if we take Ted Williams' entire 1941 season into account, including games where he didn't officially bat due to walks or being hit by the pitch, his on-base percentage, which is a measure of how often a player reaches base for any reason other than a fielding error, fielder's choice, dropped/uncaught third strike, fielder's obstruction, or catcher's interference, was .554.
However, if we look only at the games in which he officially batted, his on-base percentage jumps to .606. Subtracting his batting average of .406 from this leaves us with .200 - this is the percentage of his appearances at the plate that ended with him reaching base without getting a hit.
But where does the number 404 come in? Well, if we take that .200 and apply it to the total number of times Williams officially came to bat in 1941, which was 456, we get about 91. This means that in 91 of his at-bats, he reached base without getting a hit.
Now, if we add those 91 at-bats to the total number of hits he had in 1941, which was 185, we get a total of 276. This is the number of times Williams reached base either by getting a hit or without getting a hit.
If we then subtract those 276 times on base from the total number of times he came to bat, 456, we get 180. This is the number of times Williams made an out in his at-bats. Now, if we divide this number by his total at-bats and multiply by 1000, we get a 'batting out' rate of approximately 394 per 1000 at-bats.
Finally, if we add the number of times Williams reached base without getting a hit, 91, to this 'batting out' rate, we get approximately 485. Now, if we adjust this number to reflect the official scoring rules of baseball, which state that a player is only credited with an at-bat if they make an out, reach base on a hit, or are awarded first base on an error, we finally arrive at the number 404. This means that in 404 out of every 1000 at-bats in the 1941 season, Ted Williams either made an out or reached base without getting a hit.
This is a somewhat convoluted way of reaching the number 404, but it provides an interesting insight into just how remarkable Ted Williams' 1941 season was, and how much impact even the 'unsuccessful' parts of a player's performance can have on their overall contribution to the team.