Jackie Bradley Jr.’s hitting streak comes to an end at 29 games
Boston Red Sox outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr.’s pursuit of Joe DiMaggio’s all-time hitting streak has officially come to an end. Bradley went 0-4 during Thursday’s game against the Colorado Rockies, ending his current streak at 29 games.
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Bradley had been moved to the leadoff spot for the contest, but failed to collect a hit against Rockies starter Jon Gray. In his four at-bats, Bradley flew out to right, grounded out to the pitcher, flew out to center and grounded out to second.
After leading off the eighth inning with a groundout, it seemed unlikely Bradley would receive another at-bat during the contest. The Red Sox made things interesting in the ninth inning, though.
With two outs, Chris Young doubled and Blake Swihart singled. That brought pinch-hitter Mookie Betts up to the plate. If Betts reached base, Bradley would get one more shot at extending the record. That didn’t happen. Betts grounded out to first baseman Mark Reynolds, leaving Bradley standing in the on-deck circle as the Red Sox lost 8-2.
While Bradley’s 29-game streak was fun, and worthy of coverage, it highlights just how impressive DiMaggio was over his 56 games. Getting close to 30 games feels significant, but that still puts hitters over 20 games away from the eventual record. Bradley did get more than halfway there, and that’s no small feat.
Bradley came much closer to setting the Red Sox record for longest hit streak, but ultimately fell short of that goal as well. Dom DiMaggio holds that record for Boston, picking up a hit in 34 straight games in 1949.
In recent years, no player has seriously challenged Joe DiMaggio’s record. Jimmy Rollins came the closest, picking up a hit in 38 straight games across 2005 and 2006. Later during the 2006 season, Rollins’ teammate, Chase Ultey had a 35-game hitting streak. Dan Uggla made it to 33 games in 2011. He’s the most recent player to have a hit streak of at least 30 games.
[Elsewhere: Bryce Harper sent this home run to the third deck at Nationals Park]
Though Bradley couldn’t set a new record, that shouldn’t take away from his performance this year. The 26-year-old is hitting an incredible .341/.408/.610 in 46 games. Combine that with his exceptional defense, and Bradley has played like an MVP candidate thus far.
One bad game won’t ruin that narrative. As long as Bradley doesn’t go into a lengthy slump following this game, everything will be fine. The best way to get over a hitless night is to start a new hitting streak the next day, right?
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
