Mookie Betts' strikeout streak reminded us of the K-less king: Joe Sewell
During Boston's 4-3 win over the Rays on Monday, Mookie Betts went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Most notably, though, he did not strike out. Although it's still in its infancy, Betts has now gone the entire season (45 plate appearances) without striking out. Going back to last year, it's a streak of 123 consecutive plate appearances -- the longest active in the Majors by a whole lot.
That adds up to 28 games -- nearly a month of baseball. That's a long time. Next up on the list is Juan Pierre, who went 147 straight PAs without a K in 2004.
But who has the all-time consecutive games streak without getting punched out? Per Elias, the longest in the expansion era (since 1961) is 223 plate appearances by Philadelphia's Dave Cash in 1976. He had just 13 strikeouts in 727 PAs that season and a measley 309 whiffs during his 12 years in the league.
However, one of the greatest eyes at the plate had to belong to Hall of Famer Joe Sewell, who went a reported 115 games, yes, games without going down on strikes from May 19-Sept. 19, 1929. That's a ridiculous 516 plate appearances.
Sewell was a master at not striking out, K'ing just 114 times and compiling 2,226 hits in 8,329 career appearances at the dish. His strikeout totals were in the single digits 10 times during his 14-year career and he tallied four or less in six of those instances. Umpires were even said to defer to the 5-foot-6 infielder -- who honed his hand-eye coordination by hitting coal with broomsticks as a kid.
Anyway, let's get back to 2017 and Mookie: how far can the Red Sox All-Star stretch his streak? Can he reach Pierre's level? Will he ever strike out again? Let us know in the poll below: