How Miami Marlins' Luis Arraez Compares to San Diego Padres Legend Tony Gwynn
Miami Marlins star Luis Arraez had two more hits on Wednesday night against the Kansas City Royals to raise his batting average to .403 for the season.
He's seeking to become the first major league player to hit .400 in a season since Ted Williams in 1941.
As he seeks to make that history, he's joining a bunch of other exclusive clubs in MLB history. We chronicled some of that here.
As Arraez continues his blitz on MLB pitching this year, he's been called by some the 'modern-day Tony Gwynn.'
Thanks to researcher Jeremy Frank, we actually have a very fair comparison of the two. It turns out they are very, very comparable.
Through 447 career games
Tony Gwynn .324/.375/.411
551 H, 105 XBH
238 R, 168 RBI
139 BB, 93 K
MLB avgs of .264 BA/13% K
Luis Arraez .326/.384/.421
531 H, 116 XBH
242 R, 162 RBI
156 BB, 142 K
MLB avgs of .247 BA/23% K
If you look at both players through their first 447 career games, they are almost identical. Arraez has more strikeouts, but that's really a product of the way the game is today in terms how elite the pitching is.
Being on the same level as Tony Gwynn is quite the accomplishment for Arraez, who will continue his quest on Friday night when the Marlins take on the White Sox.
As for Gwynn, he finished with 3.141 career hits and a .338 batting average. He also had a lifetime .388 on-base percentage and was named an All-Star 15 times. He also won eight batting titles and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2007.
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