BALTIMORE – At 6-7, 282 kilos, it’s no shock that Aaron Choose has gained a couple of residence run titles.
Nevertheless, the Yankees’ captain is greater than only a hulking slugger, as he entered Saturday’s sport towards the Orioles with a serious league-leading .327 common. With eight video games left within the common season, Choose has a robust shot at changing into the tallest batting champion in MLB historical past.
“I’m not trying to go out and break any mold,” mentioned Choose, who added that he by no means thought he’d contend for a batting title rising up. “I’ve got a job to do. Especially playing for the Yankees, I gotta go out there and get on base as many times as I can, drive guys in as many times as I can.”
Thus far, the tallest batting champs have all been 6-5. The record consists of three Corridor of Famers in Dave Parker (1977 and 1978), Frank Thomas (1997) and Joe Mauer (2006, 2008 and 2009), in addition to John Olerud (1993) and Derrek Lee (2005).
Choose, who went 1-for-4 in Friday’s 4-2 loss to the Orioles, does have some competitors for the batting title. Athletics rookie Jacob Wilson took a .317 common into play on Saturday, whereas Toronto’s Bo Bichette is sitting on the injured record with a .311 common.
A extra prototypical candidate for a batting title, Wilson is 6-2 and 190 kilos. He additionally had 13 residence runs.
Choose had 48.
“Not too many guys can hit for that type of power and that type of average,” Wilson mentioned earlier this season.
The Yankees have additionally been blown away by Choose’s skill to excel in each departments, as he and Shohei Ohtani’s 106 homers lead the majors for the reason that begin of 2024. Choose’s .325 common is first over that span, as are his 248 RBI, 1.143 OPS and 210 wRC+.
“The more impressive thing is to be as refined and as accomplished a hitter as he is at that size,” Aaron Boone mentioned. “The reality is, just over time, you haven’t seen that many really tall people be great hitters. There’s a great advantage if you can figure it out and become a good hitter because you have strength and leverage that smaller guys don’t. But it is a testament to how good he is at his craft.”
Boone added that Choose has gotten “incrementally better” at controlling the strike zone, which has helped him produce one other MVP-worthy marketing campaign as Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh places the ending touches on a historic 12 months.
Choose flirted with a batting title in his first two MVP seasons, however he misplaced steam whereas chasing the American League’s single-season residence run document in 2022 and got here in second behind former Twin Luis Arraez (.316 to .311). Final 12 months, Choose positioned third with a .322 common, as Kansas Metropolis’s Bobby Witt Jr. hit .332. Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit .323.
With one other likelihood at a batting title, Choose isn’t maintaining a tally of the statistical leaderboards as he prepares for the ultimate week of the common season. As an alternative, he’s targeted on serving to the Yankees end robust earlier than October, when he’ll look to enhance on a .205 postseason common.
“I just feel like I’m doing my job,” Choose mentioned of his batting title candidacy. “I don’t really look at it as anything other than I’m trying to do my job.”
Initially Printed: September 20, 2025 at 6:18 PM EDT
