What is the Mendoza Line?

what is the mendoza line in baseball

Last updated on October 25th, 2023 at 06:56 pm

The Mendoza line is an expression that represents shortstop Mario Mendoza’s batting average, which was just a bit over .200 as a Major Leaguer. The Mendoza line means that the hitter is batting near the .200 mark. While Mario Mendoza had a career average a bit over the .200 mark, his consistent batting average around .200 is why the “line around batting 200” became synonymous with his name.

 

Who Was Mario Mendoza?

Mario Mendoza was a baseball player from 1974 to 1982 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Seattle Mariners, and Texas Rangers. During his time as a baseball player, Mendoza batted below .200 five seasons during his career, which led him to a career .215 average. His best season took place in 1980 when he batted .245, roughly what the median batting average is in 2021.

 

One interesting thing about Mario Mendoza is that he is in the Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame for his contribution to the game. While a below-average hitting infielder, Mendoza had a great skill set as a coach of the game. Mario was a manager for a few minor league clubs in both the United States and Mexico.

 

During his time as a player, teammates began joking about Mendoza’s hitting since he was constantly hovering around a .200 average. The clubhouse joke was to give a name on where Mendoza was hitting, so the phrase began. First baseman Tom Paciorek and second baseman Bruce Bochte (teammates of Mendoza) would joke about the “Mendoza Line” and even would tell George Brett (teammate) that he was hovering around the Mendoza line with his slow start at the plate. 

 

How did the Phrase Move from a Clubhouse Joke to the Mainstream?

Just like all jokes within a small circle, the joke grew to more people through conversations. During an interview with ESPN Chris Berman, George Brett mentioned the “Mendoza Line” saying. That phrase was perfect and easy for audiences to understand when describing a lousy hitter, so the expression grew in recognition and popularity in the mainstream. 

 

Why is the Mendoza Line an Important Benchmark?

Most MLB hitters who are hitting below the Mendoza Line go back to the minor leagues. One thing to remember is that pitchers are exempt from the Mendoza line conversation because their role is to pitch, not hit. Another exemption of hitting below the Mendoza Line is if the hitter does not have enough plate appearances to call their projected performance. 

 

For example, you wouldn’t call down a player who only has one hit in six at-bats because that sample size is too small. One hit out of six at-bats would be a .166 batting average, so that is below the Mendoza Line. However, if the batter continues to hover around.200 after more at-bats, teams can make a sound judgment call if they should be in the Majors.

 

Conclusion on the Mendoza Line

The phrase “Mendoza Line” represents the career batting average of Mario Mendoza as a .200 hitter. Even though his career average was over .200, he would struggle through most of his career batting over .200. That phrase grew in popularity with the help of ESPN and now is part of the discussion when describing bad hitters.

 

In today’s age, Mario Mendoza would not be playing in the MLB. While he was a decent position player with average defensive abilities, hitting is the primary focus for teams today. Even with a terrible batting average, Mario had other unfavorable stats that teams would notice. Mario posted a career -2.7 WAR, which meant that an average player would bring in about three more wins during their career than what he did due to his hitting.

 

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