"While New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes has spent time on the disabled list with a hamstring injury, literally sitting on his league-leading .336 batting average, someone has been creeping up on him.

With a .429 batting average during an eight-game hitting streak entering Friday, Milwaukee Brewers leftfielder Ryan Braun raised his overall average to .329, jumping into the race for the National League crown. And it's not a challenge that intimidates him.

"My biggest goal is to always be the best 'me' that I can be," said Braun. "I always feel I'm competing with myself to get better. It would be nice to finish with a higher batting average than I've ever had before."

Braun batted .324 as the NL rookie of the year in 2007, playing in 113 games after being called up from the minors in late May. Over a full season, his best average is .320 in 2009 (158 games).

"I've played this game long enough to know you don't have any control over what anybody else does or any other team does," he said. "So, my focus is always on me, trying to be the best hitter I can be.

"At the end of the year, if I do that, and it so happens I win a batting title, it would be amazing. I don't think it's necessarily a goal. It's more just trying to accomplish as much as I can."

Whether he stays in the thick of the race for the batting crown or not, Braun said it will not change his approach at the plate."