Major league hitters were batting .232 entering Wednesday's action, five points below the worst single-season mark in MLB history, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes.

• Wild stat: Since 1900, just 11 teams have batted .220 or worse. So far this season, nine teams are on pace to join them.

• Sub-.220: Orioles (.218), Giants (.218), Rangers (.218), Mariners (.215), Tigers (.213), Brewers (.209), Indians (.209), Yankees (.205), Cubs (.201).

The state of play: It's no mystery that baseball has evolved rapidly in the past couple decades. Strikeouts and home runs have taken over, and batting average's sabermetric importance has dwindled.

• Yes, but: .232 is still comically low. And, unlike in recent years when low averages were balanced out by huge power numbers, home runs are also down this season.
• With 45 team shutouts through 500 games, MLB is on pace for a record 437. The previous high of 359 was set way back in 1915, at the height of the dead-ball era.

Between the lines: Pitchers control at-bats more than hitters, and the bevy of tools at their disposal to analyze and improve their technique has begun tipping the balance of power into unprecedented territories.

• Improving spin rate in particular has been a game-changer. While hitters learned that increasing launch angle led to more homers, pitchers learned how to bend the ball's trajectory in such a way that launch angle is rendered moot (i.e., more whiffs).
• For a 14th straight season, pitchers are on pace to set a record for strikeouts per nine innings (9.4). And, while called strike rates have more or less leveled off at ~17%, swinging strike rates have been setting new records every year since 2015.
• Seriously, what's a hitter supposed to do with this pitch?

The big picture: Could batting averages climb once hitters (and the weather) warm up? Certainly. But MLB has already seen enough, and is now experimenting with rule changes that could reverse this trend.

• To mitigate pitchers' advantage, the independent Atlantic League will move the mound back this summer.
• And to help hitters get on base more often, defensive shifts will be limited in Double-A.

The bottom line: In 1982, Ted Williams said that "hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in sports." So far in 2021, batters are proving just how right he was.

NEW YORK — The Knicks held off the Hawks, 137-127 (OT), for their eighth straight victory. It's the franchise's longest winning streak since 2014 and catapulted them into fourth place in the East.

• Breakout star: Julius Randle continued his incredible year, joining Hall of Famers Richie Guerin and Bernard King as the only Knicks with multiple 40-point, 10-rebound, 5-assist games in a single season.

OAKLAND — The Athletics beat the Twins in a wild 13-12 extra-inning affair to extend their winning streak to 11 games, the team's longest since their historic 20-game run in 2002, immortalized in "Moneyball."

• Flipped the script: The A's began the season 0-6 and were outscored 50-13 in those games. Weeks later, they're seemingly unbeatable.

LAS VEGAS — The Golden Knights beat the Sharks, 5-2, for their eighth straight win and became the first NHL team to clinch a playoff berth.

• One-sided rivalry: Vegas improved to 15-1-3 all-time against San Jose in the regular season, including a perfect 7-0-0 this season.

Major changes could be coming to college football's grueling preseason in an attempt to create a safer environment for athletes.

Driving the news: In response to a recent study that found that most concussions occur during practice, the Football Oversight Committee plans to recommend new rules for fall camp. Possible changes, per SI...

• Reduce full-padded practices (from 21 to eight).
• Reduce scrimmages (from 3.5 to two).
• Abolish collision exercises (like the "Oklahoma Drill").

By the numbers: The study reviewed 68 concussions in Division I college football from 2015 to 2019, finding that 72% happened outside of games.

• Preseason training was deemed the most deleterious, comprising just one-fifth of the time studied but nearly half of the concussions.

The big picture: This is the latest attempt to dial back the intensity of fall camp. In 2017, the NCAA banned two-a-days, and in 2018, preseason practices were reduced from 29 to 25.

The last word: "Concussions in games are inevitable, but concussions in practice are preventable," write concussion experts Robert C. Cantu and Christopher J. Nowinski.

The Dodgers will debut a "fully vaccinated fan section" for Saturday night's game against the Padres.

Details: Social distancing will not be required in the vaccinated section, but face coverings must still be worn.

• The seats are in the loge level, right next to the visiting bullpen, and tickets are still available ($121-$143).
• Fans 16 and older must provide documentation showing that at least two weeks have passed since a final vaccination dose. Children must show proof of a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours.

The big picture: The Giants have a similar section, which ups the stadium capacity by 1,000, and other teams will likely follow suit in the weeks ahead. Welcome to the (temporary) new normal.

Five of the top 10 picks in next Thursday's NFL draft could realistically be quarterbacks. This week, we'll meet those signal-callers.

Mac Jones just led Alabama to a championship in one of the most dominant seasons ever. Now, he could go as high as No. 3 in next week's draft, Jeff writes.

Bio: The 6-foot-3-inch, 214-pound, 22-year-old Jones went from a three-star recruit out of Jacksonville to, statistically, one of the greatest college QBs of all time.

After backing up Tua Tagovailoa in 2018 as a redshirt freshman, he became the starter late in 2019 after Tagovailoa's hip injury.

• From that point on, Alabama went 16-1 and Jones went 381-500 (76.2%) with 55 TDs (one rushing) against just six interceptions.
• In the record books: His 2020 completion percentage (77.4%) and passer rating (203.1) are the best single-season marks ever.

The big picture: Jones' lack of athleticism is the biggest knock against him right now, but coming from Bama's pro-style offense gives him a leg up.

• "If I had to win right now ... [Jones] is the most advanced quarterback of any of them," one NFL QB coach told The Athletic (subscription).
• And regarding athleticism, sure, he probably won't scramble for too many first downs, but "just because he looks bad without a T-shirt doesn't mean he's a bad athlete," said another QB coach.

Projected landing spot: The 49ers have been linked to Jones ever since they traded up for the No. 3 pick, and most reports suggest he's still the leader in the clubhouse.

Go deeper:

• Read: The draft's biggest question mark (The Ringer)
• 🎥 Watch: 2020 highlights (YouTube)

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway plans to host 135,000 fans (40% capacity) for the Indianapolis 500 on May 30, making it the world's largest sporting event since the pandemic began.

The state of play: Four of the largest sports crowds of the pandemic era have gathered over the past five weeks.

• 66,352: India vs. England (cricket), March 14 (Ahmedabad, India)
• 54,159: West Coast vs. Collingwood (AFL), April 16 (Perth, Australia)
• 47,218: Alabama spring game, April 18 (Tuscaloosa, Alabama)
• 38,238: Rangers Opening Day, April 5 (Arlington, Texas)

❄️ Pic du jour: The Rockies beat the Astros, 6-3, at Coors Field in a game played in freezing temperatures and snow flurries.

⚽️ Olympics draw: The USWNT landed in a loaded Group G, where they'll face a familiar foe in Sweden, ninth-ranked Australia and a New Zealand team coached by former USWNT coach Tom Sermanni.

🏈 New jersey rules: NFL owners have voted to loosen uniform number rules, paving the way for more players to rock single-digit jerseys.

🧊 Easy on the ice: Icing muscles after intense exercise is not just ineffective, it could be counterproductive, a new study in mice suggests.

📚 Good read: Zeb Powell is looking for the "next me" (Michael Venutolo-Mantovani, NYT)

"In a sport whose most famous athletes often are white and usually hail from the world's most impressive mountain ranges, Zeb Powell, a Black Southerner, is one of snowboarding's fastest rising talents."

74 years ago today, the Philadelphia Warriors beat the Chicago Stags, 83-80, to win the Basketball Association of America's inaugural championship series, 4-1.

Why it matters: Two years later, the BAA rebranded as the NBA, which still recognizes the original league's history and record books, making these Warriors the first NBA champions.

The backdrop: The ABL (founded in 1925) and NBL (1937) were the top basketball leagues in the mid-1940s, but most teams played in small towns and shoddy venues.

• Walter Brown, the owner of the Boston Garden, didn't see why basketball and hockey teams couldn't share an arena, and thus turn a profit on twice as many nights.
• With that in mind, American Hockey League president Maurice Podoloff was made the first president of the BAA, founded on June 6, 1946, in New York City.
• The BAA was the first basketball league to play in large arenas in major cities, such as Madison Square Garden and Boston Garden.

Teams:

• Founding members: Boston Celtics, Chicago Stags, Cleveland Rebels, Detroit Falcons, New York Knicks, Philadelphia Warriors, Pittsburgh Ironmen, Providence Steamrollers, St. Louis Bombers, Toronto Huskies, Washington Capitols
• Joined from the ABL (1947): Baltimore Bullets
• Joined from the NBL (1948): Fort Wayne Pistons, Indianapolis Jets, Minneapolis Lakers, Rochester Royals

🎥 Watch: Archival footage of the title game (YouTube)

Bradley Beal (31.0 ppg) and the Wizards beat Steph Curry (31.1 ppg) and the Warriors on Wednesday in a battle of the NBA's top two scorers.

• Question: Which two players are tied for third in scoring (28.6 ppg)?
• Hint: Neither played Power 5 college hoops, and neither are named Giannis (he ranks fifth at 28.5 ppg).

Answer at the bottom.

1. ⚽️ Ángel Di María!
2. ⚾️ Byron Buxton!
3. ⚽️ Hugo Lloris!
4. 🏀 Kenyon Martin Jr.!
5. ⚾️ Clint Frazier!

Watch all 5.