St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Aledmys Diaz accomplished an interesting feat during Monday’s 12-7 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, becoming the first player in baseball’s modern era (since at least 1900) to own a batting average of .500 or better at least 50 at-bats into his career, per Elias Sports Bureau (via ESPN.com).
The 25-year-old rookie entered Monday with 24 hits in 50 at-bats, after he recorded eight hits in 10 at-bats over the previous two games.
He then singled in each of his first two at-bats Monday night, bringing his average to an even .500 (26 hits in 52 at-bats) midway through the game.
Diaz did make outs in his final two at-bats, dropping his average to just .481, which would be the best mark in the majors if he had enough plate appearances to qualify.
Entering Tuesday’s action, Washington Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy is the leader among qualified players with 25 hits in 63 at-bats, giving him a .397 batting average for his new team.
Murphy’s lead probably won’t last much longer, as Diaz is only two plate appearances shy of the qualification standard, which is 502 plate appearances in a season or 3.1 per game.
The rookie has 57 plate appearances through the Cardinals’ first 19 games, putting him at exactly three per contest.
Given that he’s swinging a hot bat and getting the majority of playing time at shortstop, Diaz will likely be qualified for the batting title within the next few days.
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