George Brett began the 1980 season innocently, hitting .255 as late as May 22. But from that day forward he hit a sizzling .427 and took the baseball world on an exciting ride in pursuit of the elusive .400 mark. Though he missed 37 games prior to the All-Star break due to injuries, Brett climbed up the batting charts. Not since Ted Williams in 1941 had anyone hit .400 for a season, but it became evident by August that Brett was intent on doing so.
He hit .472 in June, an amazing .494 in July, and .430 in August. From July 18 to August 18 he hit in 30 consecutive games, a Royal record. His unbelievable success prompted his hitting mentor Charlie Lau to proclaim, "I feel like Dr. Frankenstein watching his monster on the loose."
On August 17 Brett went 4-for-4 against the Blue Jays, running his hitting streak to 29 games. But more impressively he had boosted his average to .401. The next day he stroked three more hits and stood at .404. A little over a week later, a five-hit performance in Milwaukee raised his mark to .407 - the highest level he would reach.
As the chase intensified, so too did the media crunch around Brett. Everywhere the team went Brett was the center of attention. In the Midwest "Brett For President" bumper stickers began to appear. The Royal star granted hundreds of interviews before he finally had to set up daily press conferences to handle the demand. "I just don't know how to handle all this media", Brett said, "In the clubhouse it's embarrassing. The guys must be getting tired of this."
In fact the Royals were still playing good ball and running away with the AL West flag. But in an ironic way this led to more attention for Brett, since the division race was already determined.
Brett entered September batting .403 and nursing a sore wrist. The injury placed a burden on Brett in several ways. First, he needed to be healthy to make his charge at .400. But he also needed to rest his wrist so it would heal for the post-season. But any rest might appear as if he was trying to "nurse" his batting average. On top of that, due to his first-half injuries, Brett needed to play to ensure enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title.
Faced with all these pressures and placing pressure on himself as well, Brett began to press and his average dropped. His last day above .400 was September 19. His mark dipped as low as .384 before he rallied late to finish at .390 - the highest level for any batter in 39 years and the highest ever by a third baseman.
Brett readied himself for the post-season but the failure to hit .400 frustrated him when the regular season concluded. "I started to swing at bad pitches. If we hadn't clinched the division so early, the other teams might have been a little more fair to me. But their pitchers just seemed to care about giving George Brett an 0-for-4."
Brett's clutch hitting was evident that 1980 season as he hit .466 with runners in scoring position - the highest mark ever recorded since that stat was first tracked. No batter has matched it since.
Brett won the AL MVP and the Sporting News Player of the Year Award for his 1980 season. His assault on a treasured baseball standard also vaulted him into the status as the game's best and most feared hitter and a future Hall of Famer. Somewhat overlooked was the fact that he also became one of the few batters to ever drive in more runs (118) than games played (117).
Also by Dan Holmes
» The 1976 AL Batting Race: Did Steve Brye steal the title from Hal McRae?
» Ty Cobb's Greatest Thrill in Baseball
» More submissions
Posted November 30, 2001.
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