The Miami Marlins continue to play winning baseball after defeating the Toronto Blue jays 11-0 in the opening game of their three game series in Miami.
The fish sit at 42-31, and trail the league leading Atlanta Braves by just 4.5 games. One of the big reasons for the Marlins success in 2023 has been the prolific kitting of newcomer Luis Arraez.
The lefty hitting second basemen, who was traded to Miami from the Minnesota Twins in January, has been hitting at a clip of .400 batting average for most of the season thus far.
In Arraez previous four seasons in the big leagues, he has only batted below .300 once and finished with a career high .334 average in his rookie season. In 2023, he already has 102 hits in just 67 game through 255 at bats, with his previous high in hits at 173 through 144 games, spanning 547 at bats in 2022. At the pace he is on now, he could demolish the single season hits record of 262 set by Ichiro Suzuki back in 2004.
What is more impressive this season is that he has not gone more than three games without a hit, meaning he has not endured any type of slump in 2023. As well as, the fact that on June 20th, Luis Arraez is batting .400, which is somewhat remarkable in this day and age of baseball.
In March, Arraez finished the month batting .429 (3 for 7), then in the month of April he batted .439 (36 for 82). Since I mentioned above that he really has not endured a season slump, maybe batting just .330 (33 for 100), was just what he needed to get back on track. So far in June, he is batting .455 (30 for 66), with 10 games to go in the month.
On June 3rd, he started an eight game hitting streak, with his first career 5 for 5 game, which included three doubles and five RBIs. After a mini three game hitless streak, Arraez broke out with his second 5-hit game of his career and second of the month on on June 17th. Then just two days later, the Marlins hitting machine put together another 5-hit night, to give him three in June.
YOU JUST WITNESSED HISTORY.
LUIS ARRAEZ’S THIRD 5-HIT GAME IN A SEASON. #MakeItMiami pic.twitter.com/RdfeSpm2N0
— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) June 20, 2023
It has been truly amazing what Luis Arraez has been able to accomplish with his new club. The key is can he maintain the hitting showcase for a full season? Even if he doesn’t bat .400 for an entire year, he is almost expected to smash his career high in hits and batting average while also helping the Marlins chase down the Braves.
A franchise that has only made the post season twice in the last 20 years, is on the verge of something really special this season, one that could be written about in the baseball history books.
The chase continues to a magical .400 Batting Average.
