Dee Gordon capped off his first year with the Miami Marlins on Sunday by clinching the National League batting title.
Gordon's three hits in Sunday's finale were enough to push him ahead of Washington Nationals All-Star Bryce Harper. Gordon finishes the year with a .333 batting average and also led all of baseball in hits and stolen bases.
There are several moments in history that Gordon put his name next to with his fantastic season. No NL player had led MLB in hits and steals since Ty Cobb in 1908. In addition, the last time a player led the NL in both batting average and stolen bases was 1949. The man to do it 66 years ago was Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers.
When Miami acquired Gordon from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the off-season, they were hoping to get a player who would set the table daily. Gordon did that and more with his exciting play. The second baseman not only got on base and advanced plenty, but he also dazzled with his glove. It is possible that Gordon could end up with the Gold Glove award as well for his play at second base.
The Marlins have had one other batting champion in franchise history. Back in 2009, Hanley Ramirez hit .342 which was best in the league. That was the best season of Ramirez's career thus far, and he had difficulty finding success with the Marlins after it.
Gordon is under team control until 2019 and comes with a relatively low price tag. The hope is that this breakout season is the first of many for the 27-year old All-Star. Gordon was voted into this year's Midsummer Classic, but was unable to play due to injury.
