The art of contact hitting has mostly died out, but it’s still a beautiful thing when it happens, and one baseball player is walking away with his second straight batting title.
He is also making a career in history.
Luis Arraez won the American League batting title last year with his .316 average as the Minnesota Twin, robbing Aaron Judge of the Triple Crown.
Despite that, the Twins traded him to the Miami Marlins and his average has skyrocketed.
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Luis Arraez of the Miami Marlins reacts after hitting an RBI single against the Kansas City Royals during the fifth inning at LoanDepot Park on June 6, 2023 in Miami, Florida. (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
After a 2-for-4 night Tuesday, Arraez is now hitting .401 in 57 games.
Yes, it’s only June. But Arraez is now the first player to hit .400 in the month of June since Hall of Famer Chipper Jones did it in 2008.
Charlie Blackmon was hitting over .400 in August 2020, but that was for just 29 games due to the COVID-shortened season that began in late July.
Arraez’s current average is the last anyone has threatened Ted Williams since Jones.
Luis Arraez of the Miami Marlins reacts after hitting a double during the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on April 11, 2023 in Philadelphia. (Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
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Jones’ threat to hit .400 extended into game 73 of a season. At one point, he was hitting .421 in June. He finished that season with a .364 average, best in the majors.
No player has hit .400 since Williams did it in 1941, when he hit .406.
Tony Gwynn had perhaps the most serious career hitting .400 in 1994. He was hitting .394 when the season ended due to the players’ strike.
The single-season batting average record in Marlins history is Hanley Ramírez’s .342 in 2009.
Luis Arraez of the Miami Marlins hits an RBI single against the Kansas City Royals during the fifth inning at LoanDepot Park on June 6, 2023 in Miami, Florida. (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
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While Arraez flirts with history, the Marlins flirt with their first .500 season in a 162-game season since 2003, when they won the World Series. They are 34-28 and just 2 1/2 games behind the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves.