Could This Year's NL Batting Champion Hit Under .300?

 

As we enter September, there is an interesting development afoot in the National League batting race.

Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner and Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman each have a batting average of .300. It should be noted that Turner won the NL batting title in 2021 hitting .328 splitting the season between the Washington Nationals and the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

Had the season ended today that would have eclipsed Carl Yastrzemski's .301 clip which earned him the AL batting title in 1968. Of course, 1968 was The Year of the Pitcher with Denny McLain winning 31 games and Bob Gibson's 1.12 ERA.

However, big league pitching is nowhere near as good in 2025 as it was in 1968. So how do we explain why this is happening? After all, the AL currently has five players hitting .300 or better. New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge is leading the Junior Circuit with a .324 batting average. Trailing Judge are a trio of the shortstops (rookie Jacob Wilson of the Athletics, Bo Bichette of the Toronto Blue Jays and Jeremy Pena of the Houston Astros who are hitting .313, .306 and .305, respectively). Rounding out the top five is Bichette's Blue Jays teammate George Springer who is hitting exactly .300 much like Turner and Freeman in the NL. 

After Turner and Freeman, there are only three other players hitting above .290. Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Sal Frelick is hitting .295 with the Freeman's Dodger teammate catcher Will Smith hitting .293 and Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte hitting .291. 

As such, it is quite conceivable the NL batting champion could finish the season hitting under .300. That would be every bit as embarrassing as a team with a losing record making it to the post-season. 

Should this come to pass, one can only hope it is but an aberration. However, if hitting .300 becomes as inconceivable as hitting. 400 then it would prove to be one of the consequences of tinkering around with the game. 

One can hope that Turner and/or Freeman rise to the occasion or hope for a September surge from Frelick, Smith or Marte. A batting champion hitting .297 just doesn't look or sound right.