February 1909: “EXTRA! ~ EXTRA!
READ-ALL-ABOUT-IT!
CHANCE SAYS CUBS TO WIN AGAIN IN 1909!
ALL SEASON! – GET YOUR DAILY BATTING AVERAGES HERE!”
According to ESPN, here’s the list of the qualifying Top Ten American League hitters by Batting Average for games played through the date indicated in this column title.Because of our interest in Jose Altuve and a handful of others that may have a shot at this still auspicious annual hitting accomplishment, The Pecan Park Eagle will try to present an up-to-date picture of this race as often as possible for the rest of the season – in addition to our other presentations. We regret that Carlos Correa will almost certainly lose his opportunity to qualify for any chance at the title because of the lost times at bat that are going to start piling up during his time on the DL, but, sadly, that’s how this old game works over the long season of even the most promising careers. A few other things in life work out the same way, even for those who’ve never picked up a baseball – or even heard of one.
For further information on the longer list and other stats, check out the ESPN link for yourselves. It’s usually up-to-date by the mornings following each date of games played:
http://www.espn.com/mlb/stats/batting/_/sort/avg/league/al/year/2017/seasontype/2
TOP 10 AL HITTERS FOR AVERAGE
Through Games of Tuesday, July 18, 2017:
| # | PLAYER | TEAM | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | AVE. |
| 1 | Jose Altuve | HOU | 356 | 125 | 27 | 2 | 14 | .351 |
| 2 | Jean Segura | SEA | 276 | 95 | 18 | 0 | 6 | .344 |
| 3 | Jose Rameriz | CLE | 348 | 112 | 29 | 5 | 17 | .322 |
| 4 | Ben Gamel | SEA | 275 | 88 | 16 | 2 | 4 | .320 |
| 5 | Carlos Correa | HOU | 325 | 104 | 18 | 1 | 20 | .320 |
| 6 | Avisail Garcia | CWS | 316 | 100 | 17 | 3 | 13 | .316 |
| 7 | Eric Hosmer | KC | 353 | 111 | 20 | 1 | 13 | .314 |
| 8 | Aaron Judge | NYY | 326 | 102 | 13 | 3 | 30 | .313 |
| 9 | Starlin Castro | NYY | 304 | 94 | 14 | 1 | 12 | .309 |
| 10 | Corey Dickerson | TB | 364 | 112 | 26 | 3 | 17 | .308 |
Astro Notes: Jose Altuve used another 3-hit game to reclaim the AL BA lead from Seattle’s Jean Segura in their clubs’ second series game against each other in Houston. Carlos Correa at .320 still owns the #5 spot for now, while Josh Reddick (#12, .306) and George Springer (#14, .304) hang in there with chances to move up on a hot streak or two. Marwin Gonzalez‘s current .310 would be good enough for the #9 spot here, but apparently he needs a few more AB’s to qualify. With Correa’s long absence now upon us, those extra times at bat for Marwin are sure to come, if he also can stay healthy. – Yulie Gurriel (#18, .295) got a brief squint of .300 from the .299 ledge earlier this week, but he then slipped back a mite. He’s still a good bet to make .300 before this battle is done. He hits smart and he hits hard. I really like the guy.
(I used to love reading this kind of stuff in both The Sporting News and the Post WWII Houston Post. Now I’m finding that I enjoy doing these kinds of pieces too. Hope you get something enjoyable out of it too.)
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Bill McCurdy
Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher
The Pecan Park Eagle
The Pecan Park Eagle 
July 21, 2017 at 1:54 am |
Altuve is MVP material. The Astros hitting instructor has done a tremendous job. I would like to see Barry Bonds play the last month of the season somewhere. Rarely struck out and great discipline at the plate