.300

There are plenty of characteristics that define the true baseball fan and as the mid-summer classic approaches one of them is surely this:

Within a week or so of the game itself, the true fan closely studies the batting average of his favorite player(s) who made the roster calculating as these regular season games dwindle before the break the likelihood that his star(s) will maintain a batting average of .300 or better.

It's always looks so nice during the player introductions to see that magic threshold surpassed, no matter how many home runs and rbi's an individual has. After all, the power numbers at mid-season are not the ones we remember. Sixty, then sixty-one, then seventy and finally seventy-three are the only totals that count. Who knows where 26 home runs at the All Star break break stand in the scheme of things, but a .300 average, no matter the time of year, remains a clear demarcation between good and very good?

At the break this year the Phils will send five players to the All Star game and three of them, Chase Utley, Raul Ibanez and Shane Victorino, will all sport better than .300 averages. That's very good indeed.