BRONX, NY — If scouts in Major League Baseball and observers of the game for several decades were asked to describe Luis Arráez of the San Diego Padres in four words, it would be: a pure hitting machine.
The 28-year-old left-handed swinging infielder, hailing from San Felipe, Venezuela, has gone back-to-back-to-back at the plate, winning the American League batting title in 2022 with the Minnesota Twins, the National League batting title a year later in 2023 with the Miami Marlins, as well as last season, 2024, his first in San Diego as a Padre (NL).
The numbers speak for themselves when talking about Luis Arráez, a pure hitting machine – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
2024 in San Diego (traded by Miami in May of ‘24) – 150 games:
.314/.346/.392 slash line with four HR and 200 hits (2nd in MLB)
2023 in Miami – 147 games:
.354/.393/.469 slash line with 10 HR and 203 hits (3rd in MLB)
2022 in Minnesota – 144 games:
.316/.375/.420 slash line with eight HR and 173 hits (12th in MLB)
For Arráez, also a three-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger, his success in the batter’s box doesn’t come from being the strongest ballplayer or your average home run slugger, who hits towering shots to total 25-30 HRs or more per season.
His consistent offensive production originates from his rare ability to hit the ball where it is precisely pitched. As he stands at five-foot-ten and 175 pounds, Arráez can fire back any pitch in the strike zone at exactly where it is projected to go if the batter was to make proper contact.
His spray charts are simply something else, one example is from his impressive 2024 campaign which is provided below:
All of Luis Arráez hits from the 2024 MLB regular season – Image Credit: FanGraphs
A pure hitting machine some would say, one who is the only player ever in MLB history to win their respective league’s batting title for three different franchises in their career. Meanwhile Arráez has done it in three consecutive years…
When asked about his superb talent at the plate and the preparation that goes behind it, including countless hours of work on the tee, Arráez said, “I clear my routine every day. If I don’t do my routine, I don’t know what I’m doing during the game, you know? So I complete my routine every day and just push myself every day to work hard. I just need to keep continuing to do that.”
Watch some of Luis Arráez’s pregame routine from Yankee Stadium on Wednesday during Padres batting practice before San Diego fell to the Yankees by a final of 4-3 (HERE) – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
If so, it’s not a matter of if Arráez will win another batting title in his MLB career, but rather, how many more can he stack up before deciding to hang up the cleats…
Better yet, will he go back-to-back-to-back-to-back as a batting champion for 2022-2025?
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