For a three-time batting champion, Luis Arraez sure doesn’t get much respect.
This past season, Arraez became only the ninth individual since 1900 to win at least three consecutive batting titles. Coming off an American League leading .316 average for the Twins in 2022 and a National League leading .354 average for Miami in 2023, Arraez led all National League hitters at .314 in 2024.
Even before locking up that third title with San Diego, Arraez had already attained some level of disrespect when he became only the second three-time batting titlist ever to be traded* – and in the middle of the season at that. The Marlins dealt him to the Padres in May 2024 for four minor leaguers.
Why Luis Arraez simply isn't that good of an MLB player
Now for the latest indignity. Reports are rife that the Padres are trying to unload Arraez — who is under contract for $14 million — in a cost-cutting move. Is there no end to the ongoing effort to devalue batting champions?
There apparently isn’t, and maybe that’s well and good. Compared with the game’s other three straight batting title winners, Arraez’s productivity comes up distressingly small indeed.
That’s basically a byproduct of the fact that what Arraez does well does not square with the current understanding of value, which translates to run production.
Arraez plays a lot and he gets a lot of hits – he accrued 200 of them last season between the Marlins and Padres. But they don’t count for much.
Don’t believe me? Ask his fellow three-time batting champions. The table below shows the cumulative WAR (Wins Above Replacement) for all nine three-timers in the seasons in which they won their titles.
[Note that for players who won more than three straight, their highest three consecutive season value is used.]
Player | Seasons | 3-year WAR |
|---|---|---|
Ty Cobb | 1909-11 | 31.1 |
Rigers Hornsby | 1920-22 | 30.5 |
Honus Wagner | 1906-08 | 29.8 |
Miguel Cabrera | 2011-13 | 25.2 |
Stan Musial | 1950-52 | 23.5 |
Wade Boggs | 1985-87 | 23.5 |
Rod Carew | 1973-75 | 22.3 |
Tony Gwynn | 1987-89 | 14.5 |
Luis Arraez | 2022-24 | 10.1 |
The list is a fairly striking putdown of the comparative value of Arraez’s batting titles. His three were basically only worth one-third as much as Hornsby, who doesn’t even lead the list. And with the sole exception of Tony Gwynn, literally every other three-straight batting champion contributed twice the value to his team that Arraez did.
Personally, I still like the idea of winning a batting title, and I still admire a guy who can repeatedly do it. Arraez has a career .372 on base average to boot; nearly every hitter in MLB history would take that in a heartbeat.
But it is impossible to argue against the larger data set. Winning three straight batting titles is still impressive… but it ain’t what it used to be.
Arraez is very good at what he does best, but that doesn't necessarily make him a very good player. Winning three straight batting titles for three different teams is wildly impressive. But for a player to be traded that consistently, it's obvious that a lot of what he provides is impressive flash and little substance.
*The Cardinals traded Rogers Hornsby to the New York Giants in 1927.