NL DIVISION SERIES: PADRES VS DODGERS

October 5, 2024

Luis Arraez

Dodger Stadium

San Diego Padres

Pregame 1 Press Conference

Q. How do you feel now that you guys are here and this series is about to start?

LUIS ARRAEZ: Excited. Excited to get back here. We have a great team to come here and play LA. We're ready to play tonight.

Q. Obviously a third consecutive batting title during the season; you had a trade, you dealt with some injuries after the trade. How would you sum up your season in totality?

LUIS ARRAEZ: Thank you for that question. I mean, it's going to be hard for me. But I turn the page and I come through it. And I win the batting title again. I want to give to it the fans, family, to everybody supporting me.

And then I think Tony Gwynn Jr., is happy for me when I make that win. But I'm excited. I'm excited. I'm happy to be here with the San Diego Padres.

Q. You start in the lineup tonight as you always do in the series. How do you describe the Padres offense since you arrived top to bottom?

LUIS ARRAEZ: Excited because I see myself there. I see my name. And I'm starting right now for the San Diego Padres and I'm in this position. So now we're playing in the postseason.

When I saw my name there, if something happen to me there, I just want to go out there and enjoy and try to do the little things to win games.

Q. Does it feel different winning the Tony Gwynn batting title in a Padres uniform?

LUIS ARRAEZ: Yeah. It feels like big for me because I play in the San Diego Padres uniform. And then I know Tony played a lot of years in San Diego. And then I'm excited to bring the trophy again back to Petco Park. I want to say thanks God for the opportunity to win that.

Q. As I'm sure you've heard -- and congratulations on your title -- there are a lot of people in baseball who say batting average isn't as important as it used to be. Why is it so important?

LUIS ARRAEZ: For me, it's a lot of importance, because if you get on base, if you get a hit every day, I think I got a chance to score a lot of runs and win games.

If I get on base and get double hits -- I don't pay attention to those guys talk about the homers because it's not my game. It's not my game. Everybody's different.

So I just try to do my thing every day and I don't try to do too much. I know -- I like homers, but I got the power to hit homers, but I don't try to do that.

Q. You're fairly new to this rivalry. The Dodger fans boo you guys more than they boo anybody. How surprised were you at how much they don't like you, the Dodger fans?

LUIS ARRAEZ: I don't know that the Dodger fans don't like me. I mean, maybe they hate me tonight because I want to go out there do my job.

I just compete (indiscernible) compete. I just put myself there, and I just want to go there and enjoy the game.

Q. Facing Yamamoto tonight -- your teammates faced him a couple times early in the season -- what kind of preparation goes into facing somebody you've never seen before like Yamamoto?

LUIS ARRAEZ: I know for him, I watched his film already. I prepared my mind already. I just want to go out there, do my thing. I just want to go out there and put the ball in play.

Q. Just piggybacking off of Tony Jr.'s question, do you realize you're only the third Padre in history to win a batting title? Tony had eight, Sheffield had one, and you're the first one since 1998 -- or I think that's the right number. But, yeah, since Tony won in '98.

LUIS ARRAEZ: It's a lot of years in the past. I'm glad to bring the trophy back, like I said. Tony win eight, you said? I got a lot of --

Q. He won eight. Sheffield one.

LUIS ARRAEZ: Eight, and I got three already. So I just want to be --

Q. One for the Padres.

LUIS ARRAEZ: Yeah, one for the Padres. Let's see if I'm signing something here and stay here for a long time. Let's see. Let's see, I don't know. I just want to be healthy.