MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — An already historic season by New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge could well come to an end with baseball’s first Triple Crown in 10 years.
Luis Arraez from Minnesota stands in his way.
After being 2 for 5 for the Twins in their loss to the Chicago White Sox on Thursday, Arraez Judge pulled two points ahead—on completion—in the AL batting race. The Yankees were gone.
With one week left in the regular season, Arraez averages .3147, Judge .3134 and Xander Bogaerts of Boston at .3088. The Yankees have seven games left, with six each for the Twins and Red Sox.
With 61 home runs – which matched Wednesday’s much-watched AL record – and 130 RBIs, Judge has locked those two categories.
The batting average will be harder to get thanks to Arraez. Miguel Cabrera last accomplished the Triple Crown feat for Detroit in 2012. Before that, Boston’s Carl Yastrzemski was the last to do it in 1967.
“No pressure. But I’m just trying to hit the ball, try to get the barrel there,” Arraez, a fourth-year infielder, said on Wednesday. “Baseball is hard, but I have to trust myself and get out there and play hard.”
With real-time stats staring at him from the giant scoreboard at Target Field or on the iPad as he watches videos of his at bats, Arraez can’t help but keep an eye on the competition. But he did his best not to overdo it.
“I just have to enjoy the game and then finish strong,” said Arraez, who primarily played first base, second base and designated batter and was picked for his first All-Star game this year.
The Twins, who dropped out of the playoff battle with a rough start to the month, have enjoyed the opportunity to watch one of their most popular players work out his craft.
“I think he’s come to a point of calm and he’s got to a point where he’s just worried about going out and trying some line drives,” said manager Rocco Baldelli.
Arraez hit as high as .362 on June 21, .342 on July 23, and .336 on August 16. His powerful compact and consistent swing and the ability and willingness to blast the ball all over the field have left Twins fans and the organization memories of Rod Carew.
Carew won seven batting titles for the Twins, who also let Tony Oliva (three), Joe Mauer (three) and Kirby Puckett (one) lead the AL in average.
“I think over the years he will have a lot of opportunities in his career where he kind of battles it out for this big accolade,” said Baldelli.
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