After Charlie Blackmon of the Colorado Rockies completed a stretch of six multiple-hit games in August, his batting average ballooned to .500 after 17 games. Nolan Arenado marveled at his teammate¡¯s otherworldliness.

¡°The zone you dream of,¡± Arenado said at the time, ¡°is the one he¡¯s in right now.¡±

Blackmon¡¯s blistering start this season ¡ª and a similar streak by D.J. LeMahieu of the New York Yankees ¡ª spurred excited speculation as to whether this pandemic-shortened season could produce the first .400 batting average since Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941.