Two vie for batting title and CDL record.
The Red Sox’ Derek Jeter and the Braves Ray Durham are both quietly flirting with .400 and a new CDL record. Both are assured with the batting titles in their respective leagues– and each could set a new league record. The CDL and National League record for highest average was set in 2000 by Dodgers’ Roberto Alomar, who hit .402 that year. Alomar also holds the American League record of .396, set in 1991 when he was a Yankee. Durham has been on a tear of late– 13 of his last 17 games were multi-hit games, including a 5 for 5 performance last night against the Reds. His on base percentage for the season is an astounding .479. Durham’s output defies explanation– he is a .335 career hitter whose previous high season average was .354. Jeter is more or less a regular at the top of the batting average race. He has only logged one season below .380, and he was injured for much of that year. He finished 2002 with a league leading .391 and also set the American League record for hits (250). Both have been integral to their respective club’s success, as Jeter has led the Sox to a comfortable lead in the AL East and Durham’s Braves are 2 games behind the Expos in the NL East– and only a half game off the pace in the wild card race. Aside from some very exciting races (5 divisions still up for grabs), the race for the batting title should provide fans something to look forward to over the last two weeks of the season.
Comments
No comments yet.
RSS feed for comments on this post.
Leave a comment
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
