Mendoza Line

This article is about the baseball term. For the musical group, see The Mendoza Line (band).
Mario Mendoza, who had a career batting average of .215

The Mendoza Line is baseball jargon for a .200 batting average, the supposed threshold for offensive futility at the Major League level.[1] It derives from light-hitting shortstop Mario Mendoza, who failed to reach .200 five times in his nine big league seasons.[2] When a position player's batting average falls below .200, the player is said to be "below the Mendoza Line".

  1. ^ "How did Mario Mendoza become a shorthand for batting futility?" on MLB.com
  2. ^ "Mario Mendoza Stats" on Baseball-reference.com