The last few days have been incredibly exciting for Cleveland Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan.
First, he became an All-Star for the first time in his young career: he will start in the American League outfield together with Juan Soto and leading vote-getter Aaron Judge.
Then, on Thursday, the league officialized an exciting development stats-wise that concerns Kwan: he is now a qualified hitter, which means he just became the league’s batting average leader.
“Wake up, babe. Steven Kwan officially leads MLB in batting average!” MLB tweeted.
Wake up, babe.
Steven Kwan officially leads MLB in batting average! pic.twitter.com/QKgb7gHN9S
— MLB (@MLB) July 4, 2024
To opt for the batting title and qualify for other leads, a hitter needs to accumulate 3.1 plate appearances per game over the course of the season.
For a 162-game season, that threshold is set at 502 plate appearances.
After missing more than 20 games with a hamstring strain in May, Kwan was left behind and stopped qualifying for the batting average lead.
He returned, and started racking up trips to the plate.
Of course, being the Guardians’ leadoff hitter helps, and he can finally say he qualifies for the batting average crown as things stand today.
With his .360 batting average, he has a comfortable lead over the second-ranked player in MLB, Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, who has a .319 mark.
If Kwan manages to avoid major injuries from this point until the end of the season, he could become the first Guardians hitter to win the batting title since Bobby Avila in 1954.
He has a long way to go, but there is a cool reward waiting for him at the end of the season if he remains consistent.
NEXT: Guardians Insider Details The Shocking Evolution Of Daniel Schneemann
