WASHINGTON -- The pride was evident on Jean Segura's face and in his voice as the D-backs' second baseman spoke of getting his 200th hit Wednesday night in Arizona's rain-shortened 3-0 win over the Nationals at Nationals Park.
"I'm impressed," Segura said. "I'm not going to lie to you guys, I'm impressed with the way I've been swinging the bat this season. I don't think anybody expected I'd have the season I've had. I didn't think anybody expected me to have a season like this."
That seems like a fair assessment given that the deal to acquire Segura from the Brewers in January wasn't universally well-received.
Segura was coming off a pair of poor seasons in Milwaukee, and it seems that a change of scenery helped him get back on track.
"This year I've been a little more aggressive, swing the bat and take that fastball down the middle and try to put a good swing on it," he said. "Last series in Baltimore, I hesitated too much to swing the bat. I came to this series to be aggressive. That's why I'm here and that's why I'm hitting at the top of the lineup, because I'm one of those guys who is always going to be aggressive."
Segura singled up the middle in the first inning and followed that up with a pair of infield singles, the second of which came in the fourth inning and allowed him to become just the second D-backs player to collect 200 hits in a season.
Luis Gonzalez holds the franchise record for hits in a season with 206, which he accomplished in 1999.
"It's not easy," D-backs manager Chip Hale said of the 200-hit mark. "I think those last 10 it gets so hard. I'm happy for him. That's quite an accomplishment. We'll keep going and see how many he can get."
Segura admitted recently that over the past week or so, the thought of getting to 200 hits had caused him to put extra pressure on himself, and he did the best he could to try and block it out. After going 2-for-12 in the series with the Orioles, he busted out against the Nats, collecting three hits, including two homers, Monday, and then getting another hit Tuesday.
Whatever pressure he might have felt seemed miles away Wednesday night.
"Now we refresh," he said. "I think when you get to the mark, now it's just a free pass. I'm going to save [the 200-hit ball] for my kid, my family. I'm going to have it with me at home, and when I'm done playing baseball, my kid can see that and be proud of his dad."