Luis Arraez joins four other Twins as American League batting champions

Arraez's crown is the 15th batting title won by five Twins players. Rod Carew won the most titles as a Twin with seven. Here's the complete list:

October 6, 2022 at 1:30AM
Luis Arraez became the fifth different Twin to win the American League batting title Wednesday, joining (clockwise from top left) Tony Oliva, Rod Carew, Kirby Puckett and Joe Mauer. (Star Tribune and Associated Press/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

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The Twins have won 15 American League batting titles in franchise history, including eight times in a 10-year span from 1969-78. Luis Arraez is the fifth different batting champ for the Twins with a winning margin that is the third closest in team history. Joe Mauer won by .002 in 2009 and Kirby Puckett by .003 in 1989.

Below is the complete list, with the year, winner and runners-up and their batting averages:

1964: Tony Oliva, .323; Brooks Robinson, .317

1965: Oliva, .321; Carl Yastrzemski, .312

1969: Rod Carew, .332; Reggie Smith, .309

1971: Oliva, .337; Bobby Murcer, .331

1972: Carew, .318; Lou Piniella, .312

1973: Carew, .350; George Scott, .306

1974: Carew, .364; Jorge Orta, .316

1975: Carew, .359; Fred Lynn, .331

1977: Carew, .388; Lyman Bostock, .336

1978: Carew, .333; Al Oliver, .324

1989: Kirby Puckett, .339; Carney Lansford, .336

2006: Joe Mauer, .347; Derek Jeter, .343

2008: Mauer, .328; Dustin Pedroia, .326

2009: Mauer, .365; Ichiro Suzuki, .352

2022: Luis Arraez, .316; Aaron Judge, .311

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