Miami Marlins second baseman Luis Arraez. (Rich Storry-USA TODAY Sports)
Where does Luis Arraez rank in terms of batting average to start the year? Who was the last MLB player to hit .400 across a season? Find out here.
Luis Arraez was an All-Star in 2022 with the Minnesta Twins. Still, even the most optimistic Marlins fan couldn’t have imagined the kind of production he’d achieve after trading for him in January.
Through the first 63 games of the season, Arraez is batting .403. He’s joining the likes of Chipper Jones and others in holding such a high mark this far into the campaign.
Who was the last MLB player to hit .400 in a season
The last time a baseball player finished a season with a batting average above .400 was in 1948 when Artie Wilson went .433 and Willard Brown went .408 in the Negro League. However, neither of those players had more than 200 at-bats.
In 1941, Ted Williams batted .406 in 606 at-bats as a member of the Red Sox.
Tony Gwynn came as close to .400 as anyone in the modern game has come when he hit .394 in 1994.
Luis Arraez: Last time MLB player hit .400 this late in the season
What Arraez has done this year is truly special, putting him in rare company. Through 63 games, he’s ahead of Gwynn’s efforts in 1997. He trails Chipper Jones in 2008, Larry Walker in 1997 and Paul O’Neill in 1994.
None of those players finished the campaign above the .400 mark.
Arraez slashed .438/.500/.551 in April and March. His average came back to earth in May at .330/.380/.390. But his performance early in June shows he’s not done yet. Through seven games in the month, he’s batting .556/.552/.702.
So Arraez is fighting an uphill battle. Sustaining this level of success at the plate would make him a modern legend. He’s got a long way to go.