Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Scott Rolen has hit safely in a career-high 25 straight games.  I'm pretty impressed by this feat.  However, the last time I went nuts over a player's hitting streak, I totally jinxed them.

This is me apologizing in advance, Canadians.

Over this current course of awesomeness, Rolen is batting .390 (41-for-105).  Even more out-of-the-ordinary is that the 34-year-old hot corner is hitting .330 on the season, scoring 45 runs.  He's no monster hitter, nailing only 6 homers and 34 RBI on the season, but he gets on base, and lately, he's done it often.

Now, the major league record for most consecutive games with a hit is held by the almighty Joe DiMaggio.  He set the bar in 1941, and few players have even come close.  In fact, Paul Molitor was the most recent American Leaguer to challenge Joltin' Joe's record, hitting in 39 straight games back in 1987 with the Milwaukee Brewers.  However, Pete Rose inched even closer back in 1978 with the Cincinnati Reds, when his streak reached 44 games: one game behind the National League record, set by Willie Keeler in 1897.

This season's longest hitting streak belongs to Ryan Zimmerman, one of only a couple bright spots on the Washington Nationals struggling roster.  His tear came to a screeching halt when I live-blogged the action for Walkoff Walk.  Apparently there's some sort of jinx going on over there, too.

The Jays' club record, set by Shawn Green in 1999, is 28 consecutive games with a hit.  The Jays will head to Camden Yards to face the Baltimore Orioles this weekend for a three-game series, where Rolen will get a chance to tie it up.  He'll face right-hander Jason Berken first, who he is a career 0-for-2 against.  Lucky for Rolen, Berken sucks (1-5, 6.25 ERA). Brad Bergeson is next, followed by Jeremy Guthrie, who he also has a hard time with, spotting a 2-for-15 mark against the righty.

This is just an all-around bad time to be in the midst of a hitting streak, though.  If Rolen does make it through the weekend against the O's, he'll have the entire All-Star break -- four long days of fun which he will not be participating in -- to cool off until they face the Boston Red Sox  at home next Friday.

Good luck, buddy.

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slow down, 10-speed.
written by Sooze, July 10, 2009

I'm kinda of a spaz when it comes to hitting streaks. Seriously, I get nuts around consecutive game #12. They're so exciting!!

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Josh Q Public
written by josh q public, July 10, 2009

Scott Rolen extended his hitting streak to 25 games Wednesday night. Ryan Zimmerman had a 30-game hitting streak earlier this season. Rolen and Zimmerman are the first pair of third basemen in major-league history with hitting streaks of at least 25 games in the same season.

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