Twins' Luis Arraez takes AL batting title, denying Yankees' Aaron Judge chance at Triple Crown
Luis Arraez clinched the American League batting title, smacking a third-inning double in the Minnesota Twins' 10-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox in Wednesday's season finale.
"It feels amazing," Arraez told reporters after winning the batting title. "This was one of my goals. I'm living my dream right now. This is amazing for me because I worked hard for this."
The 25-year-old finished just ahead of New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, edging him out .316 to .311. Judge, who recently broke Roger Maris' single-season AL home run record, didn't play for the Yankees on Wednesday, despite having a chance at a Triple Crown, leading the AL in home runs (62) and RBI (131).
"He's an amazing guy," Arraez said about Judge. "He's a humble guy. He just works hard and I want to say to him to keep continuing to play like that and he'll be the best, like he's doing this year. For 62 homers, I want to say congratulations to him. He's amazing."
Arraez is the fifth Twin to win the batting title, joining Rod Carew (7x), Joe Mauer (3x), Tony Oliva (3x), and Kirby Puckett.
The fourth-year pro won the batting title with the lowest average since 1968, when Carl Yastrzemski won the title with the Boston Red Sox.
Signed as an amateur free agent by the Twins in 2013, Arraez now has an AL batting title just four seasons after making his Major League debut.
Arraez finished the 2022 season batting .316/.375/.420 with eight home runs and 49 RBI.
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