PHOENIX — Don’t get San Diego Padres infielder Luis Arraez wrong, he loves baseball history as much as anyone, but sorry, there’s just something about Triple Crown seasons he loves to ruin.
For the second time in three years, Arraez spoiled a rare Triple Crown season, this time making sure that Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani didn’t become the first National League player since 1937 to win the Triple Crown.
Arraez instead made his own history Sunday, becoming the first player in baseball to win three consecutive batting titles with three different teams, batting .314, finishing four points ahead of Ohtani (.310).
“Wow, what an amazing hitter,’’ Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “What an amazing guy. He’s been a huge part of this group.’’
Arraez entered the regular-season finale hitting .314 while Ohtani was at .309, and although his batting lead appeared to be the safe, you’re still talking about Ohtani.
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This is a guy who led the National League with 54 homers and 130 RBI, and finished the season going 29-for-53 (.547) in the last 12 games with seven homers, 22 RBI and 11 stolen bases.
Ohtani would have likely needed at least four hits to win the batting title, but wound up going 1-for-4 in the finale against the Colorado Rockies while Arraez went 1-for-3.
“You’ve seen a superstar,’’ Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters. “I think the thing that I marvel at is the expectations that are put on him, that he puts on himself, and to still go out there every day and put on a show. I can’t imagine the pressure with all those expectations.’’
Arraez, who spoiled Aaron Judge’s Triple Crown season in 2022 when he hit .315 — four points higher than Judge, who hit an American League record 62 homers with 131 RBI — revealed he was feeling similar stress in his bid for the batting title.
“This one was hard, I didn’t sleep [Saturday night],’’ Arraez said. “I couldn’t sleep last night. I’m human. I don’t want to think about that, but I think a lot.’’
Arraez not only was trying to win the batting title, but also needed one more hit for his 200th of the season, becoming the first player since Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve to produce 200 hits in consecutive years.
The pressure intensified when he struck out in his first at-bat, stunning even himself.
“That never happens,’’ said Arraez, who struck out only 17 times in his previous 521 plate appearances, going 141 plate appearances without a strikeout earlier this season, the longest streak in 20 years.
He came up in the third inning, lined out to center field, and this time slammed his bat into the grass out of frustration.
Now, with no idea whether Ohtani was closing in, Arraez hit a double into the right-center gap for his 200th hit of the season in the sixth inning, raising his batting average to .314 and out of reach for Ohtani. He immediately came out of the game for a pinch-runner and was warmly congratulated by his teammates.
He was a batting champ once again, and did it the right way.
He never contemplated sitting out and protecting his batting average, knowing that with Ohtani, anything is possible.
“Bro, he can do a lot of different things,’’ Arraez said. “He’s different. I say he’s not perfect. He’s human too.
“But thank God I win the batting title.’’
Arraez becomes the first player to win three consecutive batting titles since Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers in 2011-2013. He is the first Padres player to win the batting crown since Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn.
“This is important to me, because it’s different,’’ Arraez said. “Everybody wants to hit homers right now, but its not my game. I just want to put the ball in play. I just want to get on base to score a couple of runs and win games.
“So, I’m not looking for homers, I’m looking to hit .300 every year, and God gave me the opportunity to hit.’’
Yes, even if it means spoiling the coveted Triple Crown, last accomplished in the National League by Joe “Ducky’’ Medwick in 1937.
“I don’t think about that,’’ Arraez said, “but the batting title. Sometimes I think about losing [the title], but when I got the chance today, I said, “This is mine.’ I hit the double, and I said, “It’s still mine.’’
Arraez won his first batting title hitting .316 in 2022 with the Minnesota Twins, again in 2023 hitting .354 with the Miami Marlins. He was traded to the Padres on May 4 for reliever Woo-Suk Go and three prospects, with the Marlins paying all but $592,000 of his $10.6 million contract.
“He’s been a huge part of this group, I think the record bears it out,’’ said Shildt. “We celebrated as a group. Everybody’s happy for him. We did say that the next couple [of batting titles] to come from San Diego though.’’
Hey, it sounds good to Arraez, who would like to make sure the streak of winning batting titles for different teams comes to a halt, too.
“I want to stay here,’’ Arraez said. “I love San Diego. They opened the door for me. And they believed in me.
“This is home.’’