Charlie Blackmon has taken MLB by assault this season. He's on pace to become the first player to hit for .400+ since Ted Williams did it in 1941, something that looked impossible under today's standards.
That's why some people are trying to take that away from Blackmon's hot start of the season. Yes, this is by no means a normal season but that doesn't mean that his impressive streak isn't as remarkable as you'd consider it under normal circumstances.
Now, in all honesty, is it possible for Charlie Blackmon to sustain his .472 batting average even over a shortened 60-game season? Common sense would say no, but history may be on his side. At the end of the day, it's been done 28 times already, so there's no reason to think he couldn't keep it up for 40+ more games, especially in hit-friendly Coors Field.
And while the Colorado Rockies weren't expected to be this good this year, Blackmon's success didn't come as a surprise for manager Bud Black, according to his recent interview with Greely Tribune:
“This doesn’t happen by accident or by just being hot. Charlie studies, Charlie educates himself on the opposing pitching staff, he makes educated choices on pitches he thinks might be coming in certain counts, or certain parts of the game, or by certain pitchers. All these things add up to giving him the best chance to get a hit," he said.
People are - understandably - skeptical about Chuck Nazty's numbers. It's still early in the year and a lot can go wrong for the Rockies until the end of the season. Even so, what he's doing just can't be overlooked.
He's currently leading MLB in offensive WAR, batting average, OBP, hits, singles, runs created, adjusted batting runs, adjusted batting wins, times on base, offensive win percentage, base-out runs added, and base-out wins added. One third into the season, that's worthy of MVP consideration.
We're going through complicated times and taking away milestones and accolades may not be the best way to approach the season. Yes, it's not what we're used to, but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy to the best of our abilities. Hopefully, Blackmon will make history, even if it'll always have an asterisk next to it.
