Aaron Judge rests, Luis Arraez will win AL batting championship
It's no longer a question if Luis Arraez will win the American League batting title, but by how much.
Arraez is the de facto champ on the final day of the regular season as New York's Aaron Judge is getting a rest day after slugging his record-setting 62nd home run on Tuesday night. He was the only threat to Arraez's first career batting championship.
Arraez is hitting .315. Judge is at .3105, rounded up to .311 in the official stats.
Assuming Judge doesn't pinch hit, the only way Arraez can lose the title is if he goes 0-for-8 in the season finale Wednesday against the White Sox. That would drop his average to .3104. Arraez is in the lineup and leading off as the designated hitter.
Arraez will join Joe Mauer, Tony Oliva, Rod Carew and Kirby Puckett as the only Twins to win a batting crown. Mauer and Oliva won it three times each and Carew did it seven times. Puckett won the title with a .339 average in 1989.
- Joe Mauer: 2006, 2008-09
- Tony Oliva: 1964-65, 1971
- Rod Carew: 1969, 1972-75, 1977-78
- Kirby Puckett: 1989
Ironically, Michael Cuddyer and Justin Morneau, who were cornerstone players with the Twins in the 2000s, won the National League batting title in back-to-back seasons (2013 and 2014) with the Colorado Rockies.
The Twins and White Sox start at 3:10 p.m. Central Time.
