Padres' 13-Year Veteran Calls Luis Arraez the Best Hitter He's Played With

Maren Angus-Coombs | May 10, 2024

Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

Luis Arraez got a hit in his first at-bat as a San Diego Padre but that wasn’t the most impressive part of his debut. When Arraez stepped into the batter’s box for the first pitch, he never looked in the direction of Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Brandon Pfaadt until the ball was leaving Pfaadt’s hand.

Instead, he was looking toward his friend and fellow Venezuelan Eugenio Suarez, Arizona’s third baseman. He doubled on the next pitch.

“I’ve never been on a team with a hitter like that who just hits so well,” Manny Machado told Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Arraez’s hand-eye coordination is unlike any other. He treats every at-bat like target practice, picking out holes in the defense.

“I watch the positioning when I go hit,” he said. “I look at third, short, second, the outfielders. If I see a hole, I want to hit the ball to the hole. Sometimes I hit, sometimes I don’t because I’m not perfect. But I just want to hit the hole every time.”

Arraez travels with a batting tee and short bat in a backpack and spends a few minutes every day honing his craft on FaceTime with his personal hitting coach, Frank Valdez.

“I just want to do the swing the right way,” he said. “If I don’t do the routine, I feel like I didn’t do anything today. I feel more comfortable when I do my routine with my hitting coach.”

He doesn’t try to hit home runs every time, he just wants to “touch it.” He’d rather find a gap for a base hit than go down striking out. His routine isn’t for everyone and he doesn’t recommend it but it works. He has become the best at his craft.

“There are a lot of very good players,” Arraez said. “But big dudes, they want to hit homers, and then that’s why they got more strikeouts and homers than (base) hits. If I got power like those big guys — but I just want to touch the ball.”