Marlins’ Luis Arraez Raises Batting Average to .401 in Bid for History
Luis Arráez apparently isn’t satisfied with his roaring start to the 2023 season.
The Marlins infielder notched two singles in four at-bats against the Royals on Tuesday night to raise his batting average to .401. This is the latest in a season that a major league has batted above .400 since Atlanta’s Chipper Jones hit .421 through his team’s first 62 games in 2008, per ESPN Stats & Info.
Arráez also recorded an RBI on Tuesday to help Miami defeat Kansas City, 6–1, at loanDepot Park. The Marlins standout is now slashing .401/.451/.495. He leads the major leagues in batting average and on-base percentage.
With Arráez crossing the .400 threshold in batting average, he will face the challenge of maintaining his performance all season long. The last player to top the .400 mark for an entire season was Ted Williams in 1941 with the Red Sox, when he famously went 6-for-8 in a season-ending doubleheader to finish at .406. Since then, the closest challengers have been Minnesota’s Rod Carew (.388 in 1977), Kansas City’s George Brett (.390 in ’80) and San Diego’s Tony Gwynn (.394 in the strike-shortened ’94 season).
In January, the Marlins acquired Arráez from the Twins in exchange for Pablo López, José Salas and Byron Chourio.
On April 11, Arráez became the first player in Marlins franchise history to hit for the cycle when he did so in Miami’s win over the Phillies.