Padres Star Shockingly Snubbed From Major End of Season Award

Maren Angus-Coombs | Nov 13, 2024

Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

The best hitters in MLB were recognized Tuesday night with the announcement of the 2024 Silver Slugger Award winners on MLB Network.

The National League's batting champion wasn't on the list.

Read more: Padres Dominate Silver Slugger Awards as 3 Friars Take Home Honor

The prestigious awards are voted on by Major League managers and coaches, honoring the top offensive player at each position in both leagues. This includes three outfielders (regardless of their specific position) and one utility player in each league.

Luis Arraez was a finalist for the utility position and lost to Los Angeles Dodgers utility man Mookie Betts.

The #Padres’ Silver Slugger finalists.

3B: Manny Machado
OF: Jurickson Profar and Jackson Merrill
UT: Luis Arraez

— Jeff Sanders (@sdutSanders) November 4, 2024

Arraez reached 200 hits for the second straight season, batted over .300 for the fifth time in six years, and struck out less than any other player in the league. He also earned his third consecutive All-Star selection and secured his third straight batting title.

Arraez also went 141 consecutive plate appearances without striking out. His streak was the longest in 20 years and the second-longest in franchise history. The record is held by Tony Gwynn, who went 170 plate appearances without a strikeout in 1995.

With those stats, how did Arraez lost to someone who missed two months with an injury?

Although Arraez led the National League in hits per at-bat, his 2024 season was largely underwhelming. When factoring in all aspects of his game, his Baseball-Reference WAR stood at just 1.1.

The kicker was Arraez's OPS. It dropped from .861 in 2023 to .739 in 2024. Betts' OPS this season was .863 with 19 homers in 116 games.

After claiming the American League batting title with the Twins in 2022 and the National League crown with the Marlins in 2023, Arraez became the first Padre to win a batting title since Tony Gwynn in 1997. He also won a Silver Slugger after each of those seasons.

What was the difference? From the look of his stats, it has to be his drop in slugging, as Arraez only had four home runs compared to 10 in 2023 and eight in 2022. He had more doubles (32) this season than in the two previous seasons but his slugging percentage was only .392. With Miami, it was .469 and with Minnesota it was .420.

Although Arraez had another award-worthy season, it seems that winning a batting title doesn't guarantee anyone a Silver Slugger.