Justin Morneau wins NL batting title after sitting out final 2 days
Morneau sat out the final couple days of the season to preserve his average and become NL batting champion.
Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
Colorado Rockies first baseman Justin Morneau clinched the National League batting title on Sunday with a final average of .319. He entered the weekend in a close heat with Pirates infielder Josh Harrison for the title but sat out the team's final two games, preserving his league-best figure while Harrison dropped a few points.
The Rockies played a 12-inning game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday, but Morneau didn't play in the game and also missed Sunday's season finale. He isn't known to have any significant ailments and appears to have missed the games simply to increase his odds of earning the season-ending honor.
Colorado manager Walt Weiss said as much to the Denver Post:
“I’ve got him out of the lineup. It’s my decision,” Weiss said before Sunday’s game. “The way I look at it, the guy has experienced a career-threatening injury and if he’s in a position to win a batting title, I’m going to try to make sure he does. Anybody who has a problem with it, then their beef can be with me.”
Not everyone loves the idea of a player sitting out games in order to win personal honors, but ultimately Morneau is the NL's batting champion. It's the second straight season that a Rockies veteran has won the title after Michael Cuddyer batted a league-best .331 in 2013.
Weiss sees no problem with what he did, either.
“People can talk about backing into it and stuff, but that doesn’t bother me. It takes six months to win a batting title, not one day. So that’s how I look at it.”
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