With a .319 batting average and after connecting a walk-off single minutes ago, Yuli Gurriel just won the hitting crown in the Astros’ victory 7-6 against the Athletics to bring the regular season to an end. After a rough 2020 in which Gurriel didn’t look like himself offensively, the star first baseman became only the second Astro in history to capture a batting title, along with José Altuve, who’s done it three times.
Manager Dusty Baker wanted to preserve Gurriel’s lead over Vladimir Guerrero Jr. leaving Yuli on the bench for the final game of the season. But he came into the contest as a defensive replacement and, after the bullpen couldn’t hold the Astros’ lead, he had one last at-bat.