Luis Arraez on chasing elusive .400 mark: 'I just have to trust myself'

CHICAGO — Luis Arraez entered the visitors' clubhouse at Guaranteed Rate Field around 10:45 on Saturday morning. He wore two chains, one with the number "2" attached as he walked to his stall where his No. 3 uniform hung.

He has yet to purchase a chain with his new number on it — teammate Jazz Chisholm already wore No. 2 upon Arraez's arrival to South Beach — but his jersey sales surely will be a smash hit among Marlins fans as he continues to ... smash hits.

Arraez entered Saturday batting an even .400 in the third month of the baseball season. That means he has put his foot in it. The daily updates have begun as Arraez has given himself a chance to be the first player since the legendary Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941.

Speaking before before Miami's game on Saturday against the White Sox, Arraez knew where the conversation was headed and smiled.

"Baseball is hard, man," said Arraez, who entered Tuesday batting .391. "I just have to trust myself."

Hitting a round ball with a bat might be the hardest task in sports. Physicist Robert Adair once wrote that a hitter has as little as 0.15 seconds to decide to swing at a pitch or not. So being able to safely direct balls away from opposing defenders — and Arraez, at times, seems to place the ball wherever he wants — is a feat that can't be underappreciated.

"I have fun every day," Arraez said. "Especially if I'm healthy, I can do a lot of things.

"But I don't like talking about my numbers. But they put them everywhere, especially social media. I just want to stay healthy and play baseball."

Only a few players have gotten close to .400 in the 82 years since Williams did it. Tony Gwynn batted .394 in 1994 and might have reached it if not for the player's strike in August. George Brett hit .390 in 1980 and was batting .400 with 13 games to go but hit ONLY .304 the rest of the way. And the Twins' Rod Carew was batting .411 on July 1 in 1977 before hitting .367 afterward to finish at .388.

While baseball fans are wondering if Arraez can slap his way to history, there are a subset of people who are unhappy. They are called Twins fans.

Arraez was signed in 2013 as a 16-year-old for just $40,000, largely because he didn't project to be a power hitter. He debuted in 2019 with a .334 average in 92 games. The Twins attempted to sign Arraez to a long-term contract following the 2021 season. Arraez turned them down, bet on himself and won the American League batting title the following year with a .316 batting average.

But then the Twins were determined to strengthen their starting rotation, and were enamored with Marlins righthander Pablo López. Arraez's defense and past knee problems also influenced the Twins' thinking.

On Jan. 20, the Twins swapped Arraez — who feared no pitcher in baseball — for López and two prospects. Arraez had just finished a workout with former Twin Nelson Cruz at his compound in the Dominican Republic and was taking a nap when the Twins tried to reach him and ended up calling Cruz.

"[Cruz] said, 'Now you go there and play baseball,' " Arraez said. " 'They gave you second base, so you'll be at one position.' I was excited."

Arraez now monitors the Twins from afar. He talks to Jorge Polanco frequently and Tony Oliva often. He still has a residence in the Twin Cities — that is being rented by López, his fellow Venezuelan.

"I was surprised [at the trade] but this is baseball," he said. "This is business. Now I'm here with Miami and I do what I do."

Arraez has a chance at history while the Twins sputter with one of the most dysfunctional, strikeout-intensive offenses in baseball. López posted a 1.74 ERA over his first four starts but entered Tuesday 2-2 with a 5.50 ERA since then.

López needs to become the rotation anchor the Twins believe he can be so this is at least an Ironman vs. Superman debate. Right now, it's lopsided.