Miami Marlins Slugger Otto Lopez Fights for Batting Title Down Final Stretch
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Miami Marlins shortstop Otto Lopez is reminding everyone that he still has a chance to win the batting title.
Baseball writers are thinking that Philadelphia Phillies' second baseman Luis Arraez will once again take the trophy, but Lopez's latest performance is making everyone say, “not so fast."
Battle for the Batting Title
To win the batting title, there are no off days. The level of consistency must be proficient. Lopez is once again back in the batting title conversation. If anyone is seeing how he's hitting, especially in the last seven days, then it's no joke that he wants this badly.
In the last seven games entering Sunday, Lopez was slashing .520/.625/.640 with five RBIs, three walks, and 13 hits. In this three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Lopez had six hits. Lopez got four hits on Friday night. He's had three straight games where he got multiple hits. He had two hits on Sep 9 against the Mets, four on Friday, and two hits on Saturday.
Lopez has raised his batting average to 3.310 for the season. Lopez and Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez are tied for second with .310. Arraez is currently in first with a .316 batting average. Tampa Bay Rays left fielder Chandler Simpson is behind them with .306.
There are 13 games left in the Marlins' schedule. Lopez still has a chance as long as he doesn't go cold. Miami had another special Sunday afternoon as it was Dontrelle Willis Day at the ballpark.. This could be more fuel for Lopez to continue his hot hitting streak.
What's interesting about this scenario is that 20 years ago, on Sep. 10, Willis tossed a three-hitter shutout against the Phillies. Here we are seeing a Marlins player in Lopez trying to beat a Phillies player in the batting title competition. It's amazing how certain things connect, especially from two division rivals.
Unfortunately, the Marlins and Phillies won't be playing against each other down the stretch. The cinema would have been great had they played at the end of the season, with Lopez and Arraez competing to see who gets the batting title. The Marlins will end their season at home against another division rival, the Atlanta Braves.
After the conclusion of the Dodgers series, the Marlins will travel to Arizona to take on the Diamondbacks in a three-game series. Lopez has great numbers against the Diamondbacks. In 14 career games, Lopez has a batting average of .368 with 21 hits and 15 RBIs.
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After graduating from City College of New York in 2014, Miguel created his own blog. Since 2021, he has written for FanSided, where he covered the Toronto Blue Jays, College Football and Utah Mammoth hockey team. He also wrote for Miami Heat on SI and Cleveland Sports Talk. Miguel is the creator and host of his podcast, Baseball Heat Podcast with Mike.