Current (and not so current) Hitting Streaks

In NCAA action, Florida International University infielder Garrett Wittels has just extended his hitting streak to 42 games. As of last week, Kevin Pillar from Division II Cal State Dominguez Hills had hit in 51 straight games. The NCAA all-divisions hitting streak record is 60 by Damian Constantino of Salve Regina, Rhode Island. For Division I, it’s Robin Ventura’s 58 gamer.

Ah, brings back memories of 1988. Rain Man, Guns N Roses, Sade, bad haircuts, Cabbage Patch dolls and….drum roll please, my very own 38 game hitting streak at Cal State Fullerton. To be 100 percent honest, I don’t remember a whole lot about it other than our team was winning, we were throwing some excellent parties at our house, I was picking up a scholarship check every couple weeks, and I was seeing the ball really well. I remember having a very solid approach at the plate…staying inside of the ball and trying to drive everything up the middle. Soft stuff I pulled, but the majority of my contact was up the middle or opposite field.

And as far as pressure, I don’t remember feeling a whole lot of it. I was in a very good mind space that kept me in the moment. I’d just experienced what turned out to be the turning point of my baseball career at junior college the previous year….a mental snap that blew the door open and allowed me to start to reach my potential. It was still very fresh in my mind and allowed me to overcome the expectations and emotions of the streak.

So, all in all it was a good year. Our team went to the college world series and almost won the thing. Like I said, my streak came to an end at 38…hopefully Pillar and Wittels can continue theirs right into the record books. Here’s an archived article I found reporting on the day my streak ended.

Mayne Won’t Complain About End of Streak

May 31, 1988 ROBYN NORWOOD, Times Staff Writer STARKVILLE, Miss. — It was hard for Brent Mayne to think it was over, right up until Mike Ross’ game-winning homer cleared the fence.

After that, it was hard to mind.

Ross’ ninth-inning homer gave Cal State Fullerton a 6-3 victory over Texas sending the Titans to the College World Series.

But it also ended any hope Mayne had of continuing his 38-game hitting streak, which had set both Cal State Fullerton and Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. records.

What should he do, complain?

So many times before, it had seemed as if the streak was certain to end.

Twice before, Mayne had preserved it at the last minute with 10th-inning singles.

And had Ross not ended the game then and there, it might have happened again.

It appeared to be all but over when he failed to get a hit in his third at-bat, striking out to end the eighth inning, with Fullerton trailing, 3-1.

But then the Titans rallied in the ninth, tying the score, 3-3, before Ross hit a two-out, three-run homer to win it.

Had Ross made an out, Mayne would have been on deck behind Keith Kaub as the bottom of the 10th inning began.

It didn’t happen.

“I had a great time with it. I don’t know what to say,” Mayne said afterward. “I wasn’t thinking about it ending, but that’s the way it goes. It had to end sometime.”

You would not have thought it would end like this. An 0-2 curve, a swing and a miss.

Mayne, who is batting .401, does not strike out often. The smooth and careful swing that he practices as he stands on deck is designed for contact, not power.

Most often, when teams get him out, it is on a grounder or a line drive. He has struck out only 14 times in 227 at-bats this season.

In Monday’s game, he lined to short in his first at-bat, and put down a sacrifice bunt in his second time up. In his second official at-bat, he grounded into a double play. Then, in what proved to be his final chance, he struck out swinging in the eighth.

“I saw the ball good, and I wasn’t pressing,” he said. “So many other games it worked out, even in the 10th inning. I just thought I was going to get a hit one of those times.”

So it is over, and perhaps it will be nice for him to have one less thing to worry about as the Titans go into the College World Series.

He enjoyed it, he said, but it is not so bad a thing that it is over. Better that than the season.

“If it was a choice between getting a hit and winning this game–I don’t even have to answer,” he said.

Tasering Fans?

There’s been a lot of debate lately over the tasering of a young Philly fan who ran onto the field. Interesting subject. If you recall, I wrote a blog back in February debating the subject of streaking and athletic events. In that post, I basically said as a player and a fan, I really didn’t mind the occasional fan running onto the field…especially if they were naked…especially if they were female.

I understand the dangers. Trust me, I understand. I was in the on deck circle when the crazy dad/son duo jumped first base coach Tom Gamboa at Comiskey in 2002. I was also on the field at Comiskey when the fan attacked first base umpire Laz Diaz. Both ugly events. Simply violent and no fun.

But then again, tasering is no fun either. It’s pretty violent and ugly too. I think what’s called for is a little common sense. I mean, if someone is running around the field trying to not get caught, let him run. Unless it’s Lance Armstrong or someone, how long do you think one person can keep running? The guys gonna peter out eventually, right? And in the meantime, there’s a possibility of some pretty fun entertainment to spice up the ball game.

And that’s just for someone who is clothed. If someone has the guts to jump on the field and run around naked? Again, put the taser away and chase the guy down old school style. The odds of a naked guy or girl coming out to do some damage isn’t real good. Naked and violent…not likely.

Now on the other hand, if someone is coming out hot (and believe me, you can tell immediately if that’s the case) zap away. I’ve seen a lot of people jump on the field in my day and I knew right away when those two events at Comiskey happened that they were different. Everyone on the field felt it. There was violence and purpose on those fans minds and it was very obvious. Like I said, for these clowns, let the police get involved and taser away.

Every dugout has an officer in there, so the reaction can be immediate. If the guy senses danger, he gets involved. If not, let the grounds crew have their fun. They get bored mowing and watering the lawn all the time. The highlight of their year is when let get to lay out a running fan with a great tackle in front of 40,000 fans. It might be the highlight of their life.

A little common sense…that’s my take.

Jimenez 2010 vs. Gibson 1968

I was watching Ubaldo Jimenez and the Rockies play the Padres last night. Are you kidding me with Jimenez? 100 mph with movement with a nasty split thing at 87mph. Ridiculous. As a hitter, watching it on TV wasn’t fun…I can only imagine what it must’ve looked like from the batter’s box.

Ubaldo’s stuff looked so un-hittable it got me thinking about Bob Gibson and 1968’s “Year of the Pitcher.” I was just out of the womb so I didn’t witness that baseball year, but I wonder how Jimenez’s stuff would compare to Gibson’s. Did you know that in 1968 Gibson went 22-9 with 13 shutouts and a 1.12 era? He lost five 1-0 games! From June 2-July 30 he gave up 2 runs in 99 innings.

Yes the mound was 15 inches high (it’s 10 now), but that’s still amazing. Then again, I wonder how Ubaldo or Halladay would look 5 inches taller. Scary thought.

Ubaldo's tall enough as is.

Bob Gibson circa 1968.