San Diego Padres infielder Luis Arraez (27), who has been the league’s batting champion for three consecutive seasons, expressed his feelings.
In an interview after the away game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona on the 30th (Korea time), Araez said, “It means a lot. I worked really hard,” expressing her feelings about being the No. 1 hitter in the National League.
Arraez started as the No. 1 first baseman on the day and recorded one hit in three at-bats to become the National League batting champion with a season batting average of 0.314.
He was the batting champion for the Minnesota Twins in 2022 and the Miami Marlins in 2023, and this time he was the batting champion for a new team. For the third consecutive season, he is the first player to rank No. 1 in batting average for different teams.
“It’s really special. Miami traded me to San Diego, which gave me a chance. I came here to play baseball, and I came here to help my team win by doing small things. And I accomplished it,” he said.
He competed with Shohei Ohtani (Dodgers) until the end of the season, but he struck out swinging in the first inning and retired with a fly ball to center field in the third inning.
“It was really tough. I couldn’t sleep a wink last night. As a human being, I couldn’t help but think. In today’s game, after striking out at my first batter’s box, I thought, ‘This is not going to work. I’m not perfect because I’m a human being either. I thought, ‘I’m going to do something,’ but the Lord gave me a chance and I was able to hit a double,” he said.
Having achieved 200 hits in this season at the same time as the king of batting, he said, “I was aiming for 200 hits. As soon as I hit the ball, I thought I could achieve 200 hits. And I thought I could become the king of batting. I didn’t know what Ohtani was doing at the time, but I could see he was in a good position,” and shared his thoughts when he hit a double. 메이저사이트
After proving once again that he is the best contact ability in the league, he continued, “These days, everyone wants to hit home runs. But this is not my style. My goal is to make a hit and get on base. So my goal is to allow my teammates to score points and win games. I aim for a batting average of .300 every season. And the Lord gave me a chance and I was able to set such a record.”
Coach Mike Shildt said, “It’s a tremendous achievement that everyone wants to celebrate. He is a really great hitter, an incredible person. He is a big part of our team. I don’t think there is any coincidence. I think the moment we recruit him, the record has shown what he means to this team. Everyone is happy about his record.”
Arraez, who has completed five years and 121 days of service through this season, will be eligible to become a free agent after the 2025 season. For now, chances are high that he will start the next season in San Diego.
Asked whether he would like to stop recording the batting champion in other teams in a row, he smiled and said, “I really love San Diego. I want to stay here. This place accepted me with an open heart and treated me like a family,” expressing affection for his current team and hometown.
However, he shook his head when asked if there was any discussion about extending the contract with the club.