Beat the Streak leader falls short of record
With a chance to tie the all-time record streak of 51 games, user "papigoneyard" came up short in the quest to win $5.6 million in Beat the Streak presented by MGM Resorts. That means there is a new leader in the contest, and two others with current streaks of 40 or more as players try to successfully select one or two batters each day who will get a hit, putting together a streak of 57 games to eclipse the MLB record of 56 set by legendary Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio in 1941.
User "papigoneyard" selected the Royals' Whit Merrifield and the Rockies' Nolan Arenado to each get a hit Saturday to push the streak from 49 to 51, which would have tied Robert Mosely in 2017 and Roberto Aguirre-Hunn Jr. this year for the all-time high. While Merrifield went 1-for-5 with a single against the Marlins, Arenado went hitless in four plate appearances against the Padres.
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Here's a look at the current 40-plus club.
User: 57 hits, 50
Aptly named, user "57 hits" is the new BTS leader, extending the streak to 50 by selecting the D-backs' Ketel Marte and the White Sox Tim Anderson. Marte helped the red-hot D-backs win for the 11th time in 12 games with an RBI single in the fourth inning against the Reds in Cincinnati. And Anderson went 2-for-5 with a single and a double against the Angels in Chicago.
"Been playing BTS for more than five years," "57 hits" told MLB.com. "My best streak is probably 15 or 16. I saw robangelxo's profile interview in early August. It gave me some new ideas for making picks. That is where my current streak started. Two picks each day, 25 days straight so far."
The most popular choices for "57 hits" during the streak have been Nolan Arenado (28 times) and Rockies teammate Charlie Blackmon (18 times) and the Angels' Mike Trout (18 times).
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User: rinkja, 43
User "rinkja" also chose wisely Saturday, pushing the streak to 43 with the Indians' Francisco Lindor, who went 1-for-4 with a second-inning single against the Twins in Minnesota.
The Brewers' Christian Yelich has been a favorite, as "rinkja" has selected the reigning National League Most Valuable Player Award winner 25 times during the streak. Other popular choices have been the Astros' Michael Brantley (18) and the Twins' Jorge Polanco (15).
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User: lweaver0504, 41
User "lweaver0504" chose the Astros' Jose Altuve to push the streak to 41, and Altuve came through with a fifth-inning double against the Mariners in Houston. This user's most popular picks during the streak have been Blackmon (19), Boston's J.D. Martinez (13) and Yelich (11).
No one has won the grand prize in the 18 years Beat the Streak has been played. Will one of these three players be the one to do it?