PHOENIX — Last week in Los Angeles, amid a ridiculous late-season tear by the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani, Padres infielder Luis Arraez did something he hadn’t done all season: The man nicknamed “La Regadera” (“The Sprinkler”) went hitless in three consecutive games.
It was, of course, an anomaly.
Sunday at Chase Field, Arraez set a career-high with his 32nd double, finished his regular season hitting .314 and thus became the first player in major-league history to win three consecutive batting titles with three different teams. Meanwhile in Denver, Ohtani finished second in the National League in batting average, at .310, and thus fell short of claiming the first Triple Crown by an NL player since 1937.
That’s .314 for King Luis 👑 pic.twitter.com/r33Mc806nh
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) September 29, 2024
“He can do a lot of good things, man,” Arraez said of Ohtani on Saturday. “He’s different.”
So is Arraez. At a time when the pure contact hitter is nearly extinct, he stands alone as an artist seemingly transported from an earlier era. Earlier this season, for example, Arraez went 141 straight plate appearances without striking out. It was the longest such streak in 19 years. And it was the kind of skill set that has all but disappeared.
In 2022, Arraez hit .316 to win his first batting title. A few months later, the Minnesota Twins — who originally signed him out of Venezuela for $40,000 — traded him to the Miami Marlins.
In 2023, Arraez hit .354 to win another batting title, this time in the American League. Several months later, in early May, the Marlins traded him to the Padres and agreed to pay the virtual remainder of his $10.6 million salary.
In 2024, Arraez might have found his most natural fit yet.
The Padres, who are returning to the postseason on the strength of their offense, finished the regular season with the majors’ highest batting average, its highest contact rate and its lowest strikeout percentage. Arraez has catalyzed a revamped approach, batting leadoff in every start since he debuted with a four-hit game on May 4 at Chase Field.
Sunday in the same building, Arraez bookended his regular season in fitting fashion. His first at-bat, a strikeout, was uncharacteristic. Then, he flied out. Finally, leading off the bottom of the sixth, he displayed a familiar swing — quick, compact and deadly accurate — in lining a changeup on the outer edge of the plate to the gap in right-center.
Standing on second base, moments before he was lifted for a pinch runner, Arraez pounded his hands together in celebration. He had just reached the 200-hit threshold, joining only American League MVP candidate Bobby Witt Jr. in this year’s club — and just supplied the latest reminder of his singular place in today’s game.
(Photo of Luis Arraez hitting a double on Sept. 29: Brad Penner / USA Today)
