Batting titles go to Turner, Gurriel in boom-and-bust year

Trea Turner of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston’s Yuli Gurriel won their first batting titles in a season of boom and bust that saw four teams lose 100 games for only the third time, and four 90-game winners in the AL East alone.

Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels was a singular sensation with a superlative two-way season, unmatched even by Babe Ruth.

Turner hit .328 to top defending NL batting champion Juan Soto of Washington, who hit .313.

“It’s consistency, which I pride myself on and showing up every day,” said the 28-year-old Turner, traded from Washington to Los Angeles in late July. “You’ve got to qualify for certain awards and have a certain amount of at-bats, and it’s hard if you’re not out there on the field.”

Gurriel batted .319 to lead the AL; Astros teammate Michael Brantley was second at .311, just ahead of Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr., also at .311. At 37, he is the second-oldest batting champ, behind 38-year-old Barry Bonds in 2002.

Ohtani was second in the AL to Guerrero Jr. with .592 slugging, led the AL with eight triples and was third in the majors with 46 home runs. He hit .257 with 100 RBIS and 26 stolen bases. On the mound, he paced AL pitchers with a .122 opponents’ batting average with runners in scoring position. Batters hit .087 (11 for 127) against his splitter, the lowest for any pitch in the majors with a minimum 110 plate appearances. On the bases, his 4.09-second sprint time from home to first was MLB’S fastest.

Kansas City catcher Salvador Perez and Guerrero tied for the big league home run title with 48 each, two more than Ohtani had, and San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr. topped the NL with 42. Perez also led the AL with 121 RBIS and the Braves’ Adam Duvall led the NL with 113, for Miami and Atlanta.

Standings reflected the trend to teams going all in or bailing out and tearing down. San Francisco (107), the Los Angeles Dodgers (106) and Tampa Bay (100) gave the majors three 100-win teams for the fourth straight full season. The Dodgers set a record for the most wins by a second-place team, topping the 104 of the 1909 Chicago Cubs and 1942 Brooklyn Dodgers.

Every team in the AL East other than the Orioles won at least 90 games, the first time that happened since the leagues split into three divisions each in 1994.

Arizona and Baltimore (both 110), Texas (102) and Pittsburgh (100) made it the second straight full season with four 100-game losers. Before then, it only happened once, in 2002. Julio Urías of the Dodgers was the only 20-game winner, the fewest in a full season since there were none for the fourth time in 2017. Gerrit Cole’s 16 wins for the Yankees were the fewest to lead the AL in a full season.

Toronto lefty Robbie Ray topped the AL with 248 strikeouts and a 2.84 ERA. Philadelphia’s Zack Wheeler paced the NL with 247 strikeouts, and Milwaukee’s Corbin Burnes led with a 2.43 ERA. San Diego’s Mark Melancon led the majors with 39 saves.

ASHLEY LANDIS / ASSOCIATED PRESS Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias raises his glove as he walks off the mound after the top of the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday in Los Angeles. Urias was the only 20-game winner in Major League Baseball this season.