It’s always hard to say goodbye.
That’s what Luis Arraez had to do on Thursday to the San Diego Padres.
Arraez’s contract is up now that the Padres’ season ended in a loss to the Chicago Cubs, and he made it clear in his postgame comments he doesn’t expect to be back.
“I’m not ready for this moment,” Arraez told reporters. “… I know it’s my last year here but this team is special.”
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Arraez himself is as throwback a ballplayer as they come, a contact machine.
His numbers this season look like they came from a bygone era.
Arraez had 675 plate appearances. He walked 34 times and struck out 21 times.
In the process, he batted .292, actually lowering his career average to .317. Arraez led the NL with 181 hits, of which 30 were doubles, four were triples and eight were homers. He drove in 61 runs, second-best in his career, and stole a career-high 11 bases.
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Arraez is a three-time batting champion and just 28 years old. He’ll find interest somewhere in free agency.
Contact and batting average aren’t as highly regarded of skills as they once were, but they still have value, and Arraez is so elite in that regard that he’ll keep getting chances.
It just seems that it won’t be with the Padres anymore.
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