The National League batting title was officially won by Jeff McNeil, who was held out of the New York Mets regular-season finale Wednesday against Washington.
Mets manager Buck Showalter said it was his decision to sit McNeil as New York prepared for a wild-card playoff series.
Showalter said that he would put that on him. Friday is the most important day of the week. Everything else doesn't take first place.
After playing both ends of a twin bill Tuesday and going 3-for-8 with a home run and a walk, he finishes with a.332 average.
Atlanta beat Miami in the second game to take the first place in the NL East. Even though Showalter pulled most of his regulars with a large lead, McNeil stayed in the game and flew out twice in the rain.
Needing to go 4-for-4 on Wednesday against the Colorado Rockies in order to catch McNeil, he had a double and a home run in his first two at bats, but a flyout to the warning track in the fifth ended his hopes.
For the season, he hit.325 and finished with 199 base hits. The game was tied at one with two outs in the third. He had a single in the 7th.
The man said he was close. I tried to get it.
The Dodgers won the NL West title and home field advantage in the World Series. The Dodgers beat the Rockies 6-1 to become the NL's winningest team in more than a century.
The Mets have never had a player lead the majors in hits. First-time batting champion Luis Arraez of Minnesota won the American League batting title with a.316 average.
The last Mets player to win an NL batting crown was Jose Reyes in 2011.
When he opened the season finale with a single, he was criticized for leaving the game to protect his lead.
Ted Williams played both games of a twin bill on the last day of the 1941 campaign in order to get a.400 batting average. The last major leaguer to hit.400 was Williams.
It's not uncommon for players to sit out on the last day of the season to preserve their individual statistics.
McNeil is batting.465 with eight multi-hit games in his last 10 games.
He had a.287 batting average going into the July 30 game. Since the All-Star break, the 30-year-old is batting.378 with two home runs and eight runs scored.
The AP contributed.
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