Buehrle's Streak

Mark Buehrle retired 45 batters in a row to set a new major league record:

• (July 18 vs. BAL) Markakis flied out to center fielder Wise.
• (July 23 vs TBR) Upton grounded out, second baseman Nix to first baseman Fields.
• Crawford grounded out, pitcher Buehrle to first baseman Fields.
• Longoria struck out.
• Pena fouled out to first baseman Fields.
• Zobrist struck out.
• Burrell flied out to right fielder Dye.
• Kapler flied out to left fielder Quentin.
• Hernandez grounded out, shortstop Ramirez to first baseman Fields.
• Bartlett flied out to left fielder Quentin.
• Upton struck out.
• Crawford flied out to left fielder Quentin.
• Longoria lined out to shortstop Ramirez.
• Pena grounded out, first baseman Fields to pitcher Buehrle.
• Zobrist grounded out, shortstop Ramirez to first baseman Fields.
• Burrell struck out.
• Kapler grounded out, third baseman Beckham to first baseman Fields.
• Hernandez grounded out, third baseman Beckham to first baseman Fields.
• Bartlett grounded out, shortstop Ramirez to first baseman Fields.
• Upton grounded out, shortstop Ramirez to first baseman Fields.
• Crawford grounded out, pitcher Buehrle to first baseman Fields.
• Longoria flied out to right fielder Dye.
• Pena struck out.
• Zobrist fouled out to third baseman Beckham.
• Burrell lined out to third baseman Beckham.
• Kapler flied out to center fielder Wise.
• Hernandez struck out.
• Bartlett grounded out, shortstop Ramirez to first baseman Fields.
• (July 28 vs MIN) D.Span grounded out, first baseman Konerko to pitcher Buehrle.
• Mauer grounded out, second baseman Getz to first baseman Konerko.
• Morneau flied out to right fielder Dye.
• Cuddyer grounded out, third baseman Beckham to first baseman Konerko.
• Crede popped out to second baseman Getz.
• B.Harris grounded out, shortstop Al.Ramirez to first baseman Konerko.
• C.Gomez struck out.
• Punto grounded out, third baseman Beckham to first baseman Konerko.
• A.Casilla grounded out, third baseman Beckham to first baseman Konerko.
• D.Span grounded out, first baseman Konerko to pitcher Buehrle.
• Mauer struck out.
• Morneau grounded out, second baseman Getz to first baseman Konerko.
• Cuddyer struck out.
• Crede grounded out, shortstop Al.Ramirez to first baseman Konerko.
• B.Harris grounded out, shortstop Al.Ramirez to first baseman Konerko.
• C.Gomez fouled out to third baseman Beckham.
• Punto grounded out, second baseman Getz to first baseman Konerko.

Buehrle broke the record of 41 in a row that was shared by Jim Barr, a Giants starter in the 1970's, and Buehrle's teammate Bobby Jenks.

Barr retired 41 batters over two starts in 1972 but didn't get a no-hitter out of the deal: pitcher Bob Moose led off an inning with a walk before Barr retired 21 in a row to finish a shutout against the Pirates. Barr retired the first 20 he faced in St. Louis six days later. Bernie Carbo doubled to left to snap the streak.

Jenks, as a closer, did it over 14 games in the summer of 2007. After Ryan Garko homered on July 17, Jenks mowed through everyone until Joey Gathright snapped his streak with a ground ball single to left on August 20.

Fifteen perfect innings. Good job Mark.

Consecutive Decisions

With the advent of pitch counts and specialized bullpens, starting pitchers have begun averaging fewer and fewer innings per start. One often-noted effect of this is a reduced number of complete games and shutouts around the league. Where the league complete games leader routinely reached double-digits and often more than 20 CG in the 1970's, now baseball has seen only two pitchers complete more than ten games in one year since 1999: Randy Johnson's 12 that season and CC Sabathia's 10 last year. Shutouts are the same way. Where leaders used to regularly place between 5-10, baseball has only seen three players reach five in a year since 1999: AJ Burnett in 2002, Dontrelle Willis in 2005, and CC Sabathia in 2008.

Complete games and shutouts aren't the only casualties of starters not pitching as deep into games anymore. The number of decisions by those starters have been falling as well. If pitchers only last six innings on a quality night, that leaves plenty of time for a bullpen to blow a lead. Likewise, there are plenty of opportunities for his offense to let him off the hook for the loss. This means it's tough for starters to put together long streaks of decisions in each start - somewhere along the line some reliever or batter messes things up.

NOTE: When I wrote this, I was actually looking at streaks of decisions in each appearance, whether starting or in relief. Since starters appeared in relief more prior to the 1970's, it makes a difference in some of the streaks below. You can find the longest streaks of decisions in starts here. The longest such streak is really Fergie Jenkins' 63 in 1970-1971. Sorry for the confusion.

On Friday night, the Toronto Blue Jays lost to the Atlanta Braves 1-0 after a Casey Kotchman sacrifice fly drove in the winning run in the bottom of the 8th. Jays starter Roy Halladay had been pinch-hit for the inning before, so Jesse Carlson was tagged with the loss. Notably, Halladay hadn't had a no-decision since June 25, 2008. That start also occurred in interleague play, but the Blue Jays were at home, so you can't blame pinch-hitting. Halladay's string of 26 decisions in 26 starts ties him for the 40th longest such streak since 1954. The only other starters to carry a streak that far since 2000 were Roy Oswalt (26, 2004-2005), Tim Wakefield (26, 2007), and Bartolo Colon (30, 2004-2005). Colon is one of only nineteen pitchers to reach 30 straight decisions since 1954:

• Gaylord Perry, 47 (28 W, 19 L) - 1972-1973
• Nolan Ryan, 42 (25-17) - 1974-1975
• Juan Marichal, 41 (28-13) - 1964-1965
• Wilbur Wood, 38 (20-18) - 1972-1973
• Charlie Hough, 36 (18-18) - 1985-1986
  
• Fritz Peterson, 35 (18-17) - 1971-1972
  
• Nolan Ryan, 34 (19-15) - 1976-1977
  
• Dick Ellsworth, 34 (17-17) - 1963-1964
  
• Gaylord Perry, 33 (12-21) - 1974-1975
  
• Fergie Jenkins, 33 (20-13) - 1970
  
• Robin Roberts, 33 (15-18) - 1959-1960
  
• Bob Friend, 32 (19-13) - 1958
  
• Ron Guidry, 31 (21-10) - 1983-1984
  
• Luis Tiant, 31 (20-11) - 1973
  
• Stan Bahnsen, 31 (12-19) - 1973-1974
  
• Bartolo Colon, 30 (18-12) - 2004-2005
  
• Steve Rogers, 30 (19-11) - 1981-1982
  
• Mickey Lolich, 30 (19-11) - 1971-1972
  
• Fergie Jenkins, 30 (20-10) - 1970-1971
  

Randy Johnson came close to joining in 1998, carrying a streak of 29 straight through the end of the year, but the Diamondbacks bullpen couldn't protect a lead in his first start of 1999.

Halladay hasn't had a no-decision against an American League opponent since September 21, 2007, when he threw 8 2/3 innings against the Yankees in what was eventually a 14-inning, 5-4 Toronto triumph. That gives him 40 straight starts with a win or loss against the AL, placing him behind only Perry's 47 51 and Ryan's 42 41 since 1954. In those 40 starts, Halladay is 29-11 with a 2.79 ERA and 246 strikeouts in exactly 300 innings pitched. Can he go eight twelve more starts to eclipse Perry? It's definitely something to keep tabs on when following the tight AL East race.

Two or Fewer Total Bases

After going 1 for 4 in tonight's game, Jason Kendall of the Brewers is hitting .143/.245/.167. He's got six hits (five singles and a double), five walks, and one hit by pitch. His lack of power is well-known around baseball, thanks in large part to his 6 HR in 2453 plate appearances since leaving Pittsburgh. So far this season Kendall has played in thirteen games and has had fewer than two total bases in each.

I'm sure he'll manage to hit three singles, a double and a single, or even a home run at some point, but it might take a while. So that thought made me curious about the longest streak of games with two or fewer total bases to start a season, especially among starters.

Given that he's both punchless and a catcher, Kendall isn't likely to pinch-hit much. I'm not that interested in a list that includes pinch-hitters anyway, because I don't think a guy should be penalized for not hitting pinch-hit triples or home runs very often. Therefore I've looked only at games where the player in question had two or more plate appearances. Obviously, a triple or home run could be overlooked, but that's okay.

As usual, this covers players from 1954 to the present.

Most Consecutive Games with Two or Fewer Total Bases to Start a Season
(minimum 2 PA in each game)

• Ruben Amaro, 1960 PHI - 82 games
• Dal Maxvill, 1970 STL - 69 games
• Bill Russell, 1975 LAD - 64 games
• Fred Stanley, 1982 OAK - 63 games
• Rich Morales, 1973 CHW-SDP - 58 games
• Dave Concepcion, 1988 CIN - 55 games
• Luis Gomez, 1980 ATL - 55 games
• Alvaro Espinoza, 1989 NYY - 49 games
• Fred Kendall, 1976 SDP - 47 games
• Wilbur Wood, 1972 CHW - 46 games
  
• Al Weis, 1966 CHW - 46 games
• Lance Blankenship, 1990 OAK - 45 games
• Pat Rockett, 1978 ATL - 45 games

So not only does Kendall have months to go to match Amaro, he's got a ways to go before he reaches his dad's mark. Fans who were around in the 1970's no doubt recognize lefthanded knuckleballer Wilbur Wood. He actually started 49 games in 1972 but was pulled before batting twice in three of them.

It's been nearly two decades since someone went 45 games into the season without 3+ total bases in a game, though, so let's look at a list of players since 2000. Unsurprisingly, the list is littered with pitchers, so I'm going to drop them.

Most Consecutive Games with Two or Fewer Total Bases to Start a Season
(since 2000; minimum 2 PA in each game)

• Ramon Martinez, 2007 LAD - 35 games
• Luis Rivas, 2005 MIN - 34 games
• Ross Gload, 2008 KCR - 31 games
• Jorge Fabregas, 2002 ANA-MIL - 31 games
• Willie Bloomquist, 2008 SEA - 30 games
• Adam Everett, 2002 HOU - 30 games

Jason Kendall reached 28 games to start the 2007 season, one year after going 23 games without three total bases. Two doubles and a single in the second game of last season messed up the trend, but 2009 might still be his year.

Stolen Base Streaks

Consecutive Games With Stolen Bases
1956-2008

• 12 games
  Bert Campaneris, 15 SB, 6/10/1969 to 6/21/1969
  
  
• 11 games
  Rickey Henderson, 19 SB, 8/14/1983 to 8/24/1983
  
  
• 9 games
  Rickey Henderson, 13 SB, 9/4/1980 to 9/13/1980
  Rickey Henderson, 11 SB, 4/19/1986 to 4/27/1986
  Corey Patterson, 11 SB, 5/27/2006 to 6/5/2006
  
  
• 8 games
  Vince Coleman, 12 SB, 8/26/1987 to 9/4/1987
  Kenny Lofton, 11 SB, 9/26/1995 to 4/3/1996
  Kenny Lofton, 13 SB, 9/9/1996 to 9/16/1996
  
  
• 7 games
  Tommy Harper, 9 SB, 5/21/1969 to 5/28/1969
  Joe Morgan, 8 SB, 8/10/1973 to 8/17/1973
  Davey Lopes, 7 SB, 9/2/1976 to 9/9/1976
  Ron LeFlore, 7 SB, 6/8/1980 to 6/14/1980
  Dave Collins, 9 SB, 7/1/1980 to 7/6/1980
  Tim Raines, 12 SB, 8/26/1981 to 9/3/1981
  Rickey Henderson, 9 SB, 4/28/1982 to 5/3/1982
  Gary Pettis, 10 SB, 5/5/1985 to 5/14/1985
  Rickey Henderson, 12 SB, 5/2/1988 to 5/10/1988
  Marquis Grissom, 9 SB, 5/26/1991 to 6/2/1991
  Pat Listach, 8 SB, 5/22/1992 to 5/29/1992

Three other players besides Corey Patterson have had six-game streaks since 2000. They are Jose Reyes (in 2005 and 2007), Chone Figgins (2005), and Luis Matos (2001).

Consecutive Games Caught Stealing
1956-2008

• 5 games
  Craig Biggio, 8/31/1993 to 9/6/1993
  Carl Everett, 5/26/1998 to 5/31/1998
  Scott Podsednik, 7/23/2005 to 7/27/2005
  
  
• 4 games
  Don Buford, 5/22/1967 to 5/26/1967
  Bud Harrelson, 8/6/1967 to 8/9/1967
  Ben Oglivie, 7/18/1975 to 7/21/1975
  Lou Brock, 8/2/1977 to 8/6/1977
  Lonnie Smith, 6/26/1982 to 6/29/1982
  Steve Sax, 4/7/1984 to 4/11/1984
  Randy Johnson, 9/5/1984 to 9/8/1984
  Chili Davis, 5/14/1986 to 5/18/1986
  Lenny Dykstra, 7/8/1989 to 7/13/1989
  Delino DeShields, 6/13/1990 to 7/12/1990
  Ray Lankford, 10/1/1991 to 10/5/1991
  Shane Mack, 6/26/1992 to 6/29/1992
  Chone Figgins, 7/15/2006 to 7/18/2006

Besides Podsednik and Figgins, players have been caught stealing in three or more consecutive games sixteen times since 2000. The most recent player to be so unsuccessful on the basepaths was Jacoby Ellsbury from July 3-5 last season.

Consecutive Games Without a Run Scored

Since I posted on Monday about players scoring runs in consecutive games, I though it'd be interesting to look at the opposite record. To count as a game played, I've required players to have at least one plate appearance in the game. I've also taken out pitchers because most of them are horrible with a bat. I guess I'm not all that interested in seeing a list with a bunch of pitchers on it. With pitchers taken away, players often used as pinch hitters have an advantage since it only takes one plate appearance to further the streak.

It turns out that twelve players have come up to bat in 50+ straight games without managing to score. They were all primarily pinch hitters during their streaks, though some guys started a few games here and there.

Most Consecutive Games Without a Run Scored, 1956-2008
(minimum 1 PA in each game)

• Smoky Burgess, 148 games, 6/30/1965 to 6/23/1967
  .283/.373/.346 in 127 AB
  
  
• Razor Shines, 64 games, 9/12/1983 to 5/14/1987
  .188/.241/.200 in 80 AB
  
  
• Jose Morales, 61 games, 8/18/1976 to 7/3/1977
  .194/.236/.239 in 67 AB
  
  
• Bob Hale, 60 games, 8/27/1960 to 8/24/1961
  .204/.233/.241 in 54 AB
  
  
• Rusty Staub, 60 games, 9/17/1983 to 7/31/1984
  .264/.317/.340 in 53 AB
  
  
• Boog Powell, 56 games, 9/21/1976 to 8/24/1977
  .219/.359/.250 in 64 AB
  
  
• Wally Moon, 55 games, 6/25/1964 to 5/31/1965
  .192/.267/.205 in 78 AB
  
  
• Ron Northey, 52 games, 9/11/1956 to 7/23/1957
  .256/.423/.282 in 39 AB
  
  
• Scott Livingstone, 52 games, 5/8/1998 to 9/26/1998
  .202/.227/.250 in 84 AB
  
  
• Bill Heath, 51 games, 9/30/1966 to 8/15/1969
  .139/.284/.167 in 72 AB
  
  
• Terry Puhl, 51 games, 4/25/1987 to 8/15/1987
  .186/.240/.200 in 70 AB
  
  
• Bob Molinaro, 50 games, 6/11/1982 to 4/5/1983
  .213/.260/.234 in 47 AB

It should be noted that when you take out his games on the mound, pitcher Don Newcombe appeared in 63 consecutive games from 1957 to 1960 as a pinch hitter without scoring a run. When you include his mound appearances, his streak is broken up into insignificant chunks.

The most recent streak on that list is Scott Livingstone's. Since the end of that streak, Orlando Palmeiro's 47 games in 2006 is the longest non-scoring streak. Mark Sweeney had the longest scoring drought in 2008 when he hit .089/.125/.111 in 45 AB over forty games between May 3 and July 27.

But who really cares about pinch hitters not scoring? I think it's more impressive for starters to be stranded on the bases for a long period of time. To try and find the longest streaks of starters not scoring, I've tweaked the criteria. Instead of needing only one plate appearance in a game to be counted for the streak, now players need at least two. Since most defensive replacements and pinch hitters don't come into the game early enough to bat twice, this should narrow the list down to guys who started a majority of games during their streaks. Note: much like how coming up to bat and walking doesn't end hitting streaks, coming in as a pinch hitter and batting only once (regardless of outcome) doesn't end this streak. It's not perfect, but it works for me.

It turns out twelve players (one twice!) had 30 straight games of 2+ plate appearances without scoring. This should be pretty apparent, but they all hit extremely poorly while they weren't coming around to touch home plate.

Most Consecutive Games Without a Run Scored, 1956-2008
(minimum 2 PA in each game)

• Mario Guerrero, 42 games, 8/11/1978 to 4/30/1979
  .227/.250/.253 in 150 AB
  
  
• Tommy Helms, 36 games, 5/5/1970 to 6/21/1970
  .207/.221/.237 in 135 AB
  
  
• Doug Camilli, 34 games, 5/16/1964 to 8/28/1964
  .176/.225/.206 in 102 AB
  
  
• Norm Sherry, 33 games, 5/25/1963 to 9/18/1963
  .151/.221/.163 in 86 AB
  
  
• Dan Graham, 33 games, 5/10/1981 to 10/3/1981
  .151/.200/.172 in 93 AB
  
  
• Leo Cardenas, 32 games, 7/1/1963 to 8/8/1963
  .093/.157/.121 in 107 AB
  
  
• Al Pedrique, 32 games, 5/31/1988 to 6/18/1989
  .194/.240/.224 in 98 AB
  
  
• Enzo Hernandez, 31 games, 5/22/1972 to 6/28/1972
  .211/.277/.237 in 76 AB
  
  
• Bob Barton, 31 games, 9/19/1971 to 5/29/1972
  .228/.262/.238 in 101 AB
  
  
• Ed Brinkman, 31 games, 8/12/1968 to 9/15/1968
  .220/.289/.244 in 82 AB
  
  
• Bob Barton, 30 games, 7/24/1968 to 7/19/1969
  .227/.296/.227 in 88 AB
  
  
• Dave Skaggs, 30 games, 5/27/1979 to 8/31/1979
  .212/.264/.224 in 85 AB
  
  
• Bruce Benedict, 30 games, 7/28/1986 to 4/18/1987
  .151/.223/.172 in 93 AB
  

I guess Bob Barton wasn't paid for his run-scoring ability. No one on the list had an OPS over .533 in their small samples, but Leo Cardenas was at the bottom of the pack with a horrible .278 OPS. The most recent streak on the list belonged to Al Pedrique, almost twenty years ago. In the time since, the longest streak was 27 games, done first by Brent Mayne in 1995 and equaled by Mark Parent in 1997-1998. The longest scoring drought by a regular player in 2008 was achieved by Brewers catcher Jason Kendall. Between May 17 and June 10, a span of 20 games, he hit .179/.243/.239 in 67 AB without coming around to score.

Consecutive Games With a Run Scored Since 1956

Unless a player is a home run hitter or speed demon, moving along the basepaths and scoring requires some luck. It all starts out with getting on base, something the batter can control himself. After that, barring stolen bases, he needs his teammates to come through and bring him around to score. This means the following list is a combination of players who got on base often and were lucky in terms of teammates driving them in. Even if it's mostly luck, it's still fun to look at.

Since 1956, twenty players have scored a run in thirteen or more consecutive games. Unfortunately, data from before then isn't readily available but the all-time record is 24 games, set by Phillies outfielder Billy Hamilton in 1894. The all-time American League record is 18 games by Yankees' third baseman Red Rolfe in 1939 and tied by the first guy on the list below.

Consecutive Games With a Run Scored
1956-2008

• 18 games
  Kenny Lofton, CLE, 8/15/2000 to 9/3/2000
  
  
• 17 games
  Jim Thome, CHW, 4/2/2006 to 4/22/2006
  Rickie Weeks, MIL, 9/18/2007 to 4/4/2008
  
  
• 16 games
  Curt Flood, STL, 9/24/1967 to 4/23/1968
  Paul Molitor, MIL, 9/9/1987 to 9/25/1987
  
  
• 15 games
  Bob Horner, ATL, 4/23/1982 to 5/13/1982
  Lenny Dykstra, PHI, 6/6/1993 to 6/20/1993
  Dante Bichette, COL, 9/10/1993 to 4/14/1994
  Steve Finley, SDP, 6/26/1996 to 7/13/1996
  Carlos Beltran, HOU, 8/23/2004 to 9/7/2004
  Lance Berkman, HOU, 4/26/2008 to 5/12/2008
  Matt Holliday, COL, 7/27/2008 to 8/10/2008
  
  
• 14 games
  Willie Mays, SFG, 5/7/1959 to 5/20/1959
  Bill Bruton, MLN, 7/5/1960 to 7/22/1960
  Kirby Puckett, MIN, 4/18/1986 to 5/3/1986
  Lloyd Moseby, TOR, 8/5/1986 to 8/21/1986
  
  
• 13 games
  Hank Aaron, MLN, 7/15/1956 to 7/27/1956
  Tommy Harper, MIL, 5/12/1970 to 5/31/1970
  Bob Brenly, SFG, 8/24/1984 to 9/3/1984
  Tony Armas, BOS, 9/21/1984 to 4/14/1985
  

The "Worst" Hitting Streaks

Have you ever heard a player has a relatively long hitting streak and thought, "Really? He doesn't seem to be hitting that well." Since most regular players will get to the plate about four times in any given game, the lowest batting average a player with a lengthy hitting streak could possibly have would be somewhere around .250. That's assuming the guy never walks and only gets one hit every night.

In reality, it's rare to see a batter take a hitting streak past fifteen games while hitting below .300. Since 1956, only fifteen players have gone to fifteen or more games with such a low batting average, and only one of those guys got to twenty games. It's important to remember that even though they hit below .300, getting a hit in every game is still a positive thing.

Lowest Batting Average in a 15+ Game Hitting Streak, 1956-2008

Rank	Name	Streak	Games	Average	H-AB
1	Juan Pierre	Sept. 6-22, 2000	15	.273	18-66
2	Jody Davis	May 16-June 1, 1984	15	.281	16-57
	Brian Roberts	June 22-July 12, 2001	15	.281	18-64
4	Don Lock	Sept. 6-22, 1963	15	.286	16-56
	Richie Sexson	July 1-18, 2003	15	.286	16-56
6	Tommie Agee	Apr. 16-May 9, 1970	20	.288	23-80
	Joe Carter	Apr. 6-23, 1992	16	.288	19-66
	Lee Tinsley	June 10-25, 1995	15	.288	19-66
9	Ted Sizemore	June 1-19, 1975	17	.290	18-62
10	Eric Karros	May 16-June 2, 1995	17	.292	19-65
11	Dave McKay	May 19-June 2, 1978	16	.295	18-61
12	Tony Kubek	Aug. 29-Sept. 13, 1963	15	.297	19-64
	Brian Downing	July 28-Aug. 17, 1987	17	.297	19-64
	Adam Kennedy	July 8-Aug. 3, 2006	17	.297	19-64
15	Bill Buckner	Aug. 15-30, 1981	16	.299	20-67

The links go to the Baseball-Reference.com gamelogs of each streak. Pierre, Davis, Tinsley, and Karros all had their season batting averages go down during their streaks. Karros and Davis have the excuse that their streaks were relatively early in the season, though. Bill Buckner's streak raised his 1981 average by .00017 from .29778 to .29795.

For fun, I found the lowest batting average for streaks of 20, 21, 22, etc., games since 1956. I've made each player's name the link to his streak. I've also put the year each guy had his streak next to his name. Any gaps in counting (33 games, etc.) means there hasn't been a streak of that length since 1956.

• 20 games: Tommie Agee, 1970, .288 (23-80)
  
• 21 games: Ron Oester, 1984, .306 (26-85)
  
• 22 games: Sandy Alomar Sr., 1970, .313 (31-99)
  
• 23 games: Kent Hrbek, 1982, .308 (28-91)
  
• 24 games: Miguel Tejada, 2002, .333 (34-102)
  
• 25 games: Joe McEwing, 1999, .318 (35-110)
  
• 26 games: Casey Blake, 2007, .317 (33-104)
  
• 27 games: Ron LeFlore, 1978, .311 (37-119)
  
• 28 games: Shawn Green, 1999, .366 (41-112)
  
• 29 games: Johnny Damon, 2005, .348 (46-132)
  
• 30 games: Jerome Walton, .338 (46-136)
  
• 31 games: Vladimir Guerrero, 1999, .386 (49-127)
  
• 32 games: Hal Morris, 1996-1997, .379 (47-124)
  
• 34 games: Benito Santiago, 1987, .346 (47-136)
  
• 35 games: Luis Castillo, 2002, .403 (62-154)
  
• 38 games: Jimmy Rollins, 2005-2006, .379 (64-169)
  
• 39 games: Paul Molitor, 1987, .415 (68-164)
  
• 44 games: Pete Rose, 1978, .385 (70-182)

EDIT: It was before 1956, but Joe DiMaggio went 91-223 (.408) during his record 56-game hitting streak.

Walking Is Not An Option

Baseball fans who don't like bases on balls have had two rookie pitchers to follow recently. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim righthander Jose Arredondo made his major league debut on May 14 against the Chicago White Sox, gave up a home run to the first batter he faced, and has been on a roll ever since. Well, that's not precisely true: he did have a hiccup of an outing against the Mets on June 16, but an ERA of 1.76 through your first 15 2/3 major league innings is nothing to sniff at. In his first fourteen outings, Arredondo struck out twelve batters and walked none. He finally issued his first walk yesterday to Jayson Werth and followed that up promptly with another walk to Chris Coste before departing the game.

Providing a contrast to Jose Arredondo's steady ascent up through the Angels' minor league system is 31-year-old Milwaukee Brewers righthander Mark DiFelice. Drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 15th round of the 1998 draft out of Western Carolina University, DiFelice spent six years in the Rockies' minor league system without putting up an ERA above 3.87 or a WHIP over 1.29. Unfortunately for him, he only spent eight games at AAA in that span before being released by the Rockies at the end of March 2004. Signed shortly thereafter by the Orioles, DiFelice spent 2004 as a reliever for the AAA Ottawa Lynx. A rough 2005 for Washington AAA affiliate New Orleans banished him to the independent Atlantic League. Solid pitching in 2005 and 2006 got him a shot with the Brewers in 2007 and he split that year between AA Huntsville and AAA Nashville. An injury in spring training put him on the shelf to start this season, but after four strong starts in Nashville, including a sparkling 28:1 K:BB ratio, he got a long-awaited call-up to the major leagues. A rough debut on May 18 at Fenway Park has been followed by generally good long relief outings. Since being called up, DiFelice has pitched in ten games totaling 13 2/3 IP with 16 strikeouts and zero walks.

I bring up these two pitchers because I was curious about their respective ranks on the list of consecutive games without issuing a walk to start a career. Since 1956, only twelve pitchers have reached ten games in a row to start a career without issuing a walk. Only twenty-five guys have reached eight.

Consecutive Games Without Issuing a Base on Balls to Start a Career
1956-2008

• 14 games
  Dave Veres, 16 2/3 IP
  Jose Arredondo, 15 1/3 IP
• 12 games
  Chris Mears, 14 IP
  Dick Egan, 12 2/3 IP
  Ron Flores, 11 1/3 IP
• 11 games
  Edward Mujica, 20 1/3 IP
  Yoel Hernandez, 13 1/3 IP
• 10 games
  Clem Labine, 17 1/3 IP
  Mark Ross, 13 2/3 IP
  Mark DiFelice, 13 2/3 IP
  Mike Nakamura, 9 1/3 IP
  Pat House, 7 IP
• 9 games
  Mike Henneman, 15 2/3 IP
  Jeremy Fikac, 11 IP
  Jim Dougherty, 10 IP
  Kirk Bullinger, 7 2/3 IP
  Steve Reed, 6 1/3 IP
• 8 games
  Paul Lindblad, 15 1/3 IP
  Jeff Calhoun, 15 IP
  Dan Quisenberry, 10 2/3 IP
  Troy Cate, 10 1/3 IP
  Bart Evans, 9 IP
  Edwin Almonte, 8 2/3 IP
  Carl Sadler, 7 2/3 IP
  Omar Daal, 7 IP

Interestingly, Bart Evans never walked a batter in the major leagues. His eight games pitched in 1998 were all he'd ever get in the show. If you're a fan of not walking batters or just like back-from-the-indy-leagues major leaguers, keep an eye on Mark DiFelice in upcoming days.

Slugging Percentage is for Wussies

I've gone kind of crazy with different streaks lately and that will unapologetically continue today. A few weeks ago, I made a list of what I called Anti-DiMaggios, players with the longest streak of consecutive games played without a hit. Today features another negative streak, though not as harmful as going hitless. I've looked up all the position players who have gone at least sixty-five consecutive games without an extra base hit. Remember, for hitting streaks, a game only counts if the player gets an at-bat or sacrifice fly (pinch-hit walks don't snap them).

I thought about calling these guys the Anti-Griffey/Mattingly/Longs, after the players holding the record for consecutive games with a home run, but that doesn't quite fit (and it's pretty cumbersome). "Anti-Joneses" is an option, but how many people can identify Chipper Jones as the guy who holds the record for consecutive games with an extra base hit (more on that later)? Maybe "Swatless Swingers" would work, but it sounds pretty corny. Whatever you call them, you can't deny their lack of power.

Most Consecutive Games With Zero Extra Base Hits, 1956-2008

Rank	Name	Games	AB	Start	End
1	Greg Gross	100	156	6/5/1988	9/27/1989
2	Luis Gomez	88	198	5/29/1974	5/28/1976
3	Scott Pose	87	151	5/30/1999	9/29/2000
4	Jose Valdivielso	80	221	6/19/1960	5/30/1961
5	Manny Mota	75	75	5/26/1978	9/1/1982
6	Junior Noboa	74	111	5/27/1991	4/7/1994
7	Tom Hutton	73	86	7/5/1979	7/15/1980
8	Mike Mordecai	71	127	4/25/1997	6/16/1998
9	Dal Maxvill	69	184	4/9/1970	7/19/1970
	Frank Baumholtz	69	102	4/22/1956	5/26/1957
11	Jose Oquendo	68	166	7/19/1992	6/14/1994
	Wayne Tolleson	68	210	5/28/1987	6/11/1988
	Denny Walling	68	113	6/15/1982	6/26/1983
14	Stan Javier	67	94	6/29/1991	5/18/1992
	Larry Lintz	67	216	9/3/1974	8/26/1975
	Al Weis	67	158	7/16/1965	8/17/1966
17	Manny Mota	66	71	5/26/1974	7/9/1975
	Mike Fiore	66	95	5/22/1970	8/10/1971
19	Duane Kuiper	65	109	8/22/1983	9/7/1984
	Marty Keough	65	90	9/27/1964	7/6/1966
	Phil Gagliano	65	136	7/9/1969	5/4/1971

The longest "active" streak belongs to Orlando Palmeiro (44 games), but he's retired. The next longest current streak is 33 games belonging to Jason Wood, but he's now playing for the Marlins' AAA affiliate in Albuquerque. That means the longest active streak for a player currently on a major league roster is 31 games (through 4/21/08), belonging to Willie Bloomquist of the Mariners. Mark Sweeney of the Dodgers is right behind him at 30 games.

That'll Be Zero Home Runs, Thank You!

If you don't live near Milwaukee or possibly Cincinnati, you may have missed the ending to an impressive streak yesterday. Brewers lefthander Brian Shouse gave up a home run to the first batter he saw, Joey Votto, ending a string of 83 consecutive appearances without giving up a round-tripper. Shouse hadn't given up a home run since the 2006 season.

Furthermore, he had one of only twenty-two such streaks to go past eighty appearances since 1956. While being a lefthander typically required to face at most two or three batters per game makes it easier to string together a bunch of homer-less outings, it's still a pretty neat streak. On the list below, it's the guys who averaged more than one inning per appearance that really impress me.

Zero Home Runs in 80+ Consecutive Appearances, Since 1956

Name	Games	IP	Start	End
Greg Minton	178	269.0	06/01/1979	05/01/1982
Dale Murray	142	246.2	08/21/1974	08/18/1976
Chad Bradford	127	109.2	05/18/2006	09/20/2007
Dave Smith	105	115.1	07/20/1986	07/14/1988
Jonathan Broxton	94	96.2	07/26/2006	08/21/2007
Paul Quantrill	91	78.2	05/05/2002	05/12/2003
Joe Klink	90	65.0	07/26/1991	05/08/1996
Saul Rivera	89	98.2	04/27/2007	present
Larry Andersen	89	116.0	07/06/1990	07/10/1992
Fred Gladding	89	95.2	08/13/1970	07/23/1972
George Sherrill	88	50.0	09/19/2005	05/02/2007
Gregg Olson	85	114.2	04/18/1989	06/20/1990
Larry Anderson	84	128.0	06/18/1988	08/15/1989
Brian Shouse	83	54.1	09/28/2006	04/17/2008
Terry Forster	82	135.2	08/21/1971	05/11/1973
B.J. Ryan	81	87.1	06/04/2005	07/15/2006
B.J. Ryan	81	75.2	07/01/2003	07/17/2004
Jason Isringhausen	81	86.2	08/26/2001	06/28/2003
Mike Fetters	81	89.2	08/03/1993	08/17/1995
Ron Perranoski	81	124.0	07/21/1961	09/03/1962
Joey Eischen	80	64.2	06/02/2002	06/03/2003
Juan Agosto	80	90.2	07/04/1989	06/30/1990

As you can see, Nationals reliever Saul Rivera has the longest active streak. Amazingly, he's only halfway to the top spot. Twins lefty Dennys Reyes and Phillies lefty J.C. Romero are now tied for second on the active list at 53 games.

Team Scoreless Streaks and SHO%

Last weekend, regular reader Ken alerted me to the fact the Royals hadn't scored in 26 innings (they scored in the first inning the next day). He noted that he didn't think this was a record for them but thought it might be an interesting topic for a post. I thought that was a good idea and looked up the Royals record (32 innings from July 5 through July 9, 2004). Unfortunately, the numbers for other teams were harder to figure out, at least the way I was approaching the task, so I decided to look up a couple other shutout-related team numbers.

First up is the longest streak of consecutive games in which each MLB team has been shut out since 1956. I've also noted the frequency of that number of consecutive games for each team and the dates of the most recent such stretch of games.

Consecutive Games Shut Out For Each MLB Team, 1956-2007

Team	Games	Frequency	Start	End
Arizona Diamondbacks	2	4	5/29/2004	5/30/2004
Atlanta Braves	4	1	5/8/1985	5/12/1985
Baltimore Orioles	3	1	7/29/1957	7/31/1957
Boston Red Sox	3	3	4/27/1981	4/29/1981
Chicago Cubs	4	2	4/27/1992	5/1/1992
Chicago White Sox	3	4	7/21/1968	7/24/1968
Cincinnati Reds	3	1	4/18/1989	4/21/1989
Cleveland Indians	3	5	6/12/1991	6/14/1991
Colorado Rockies	2	4	7/21/2007	7/22/2007
Detroit Tigers	3	4	9/29/1995	10/1/1995
Florida Marlins	2	6	6/21/2005	6/22/2005
Houston Astros	4	2	9/9/1966	9/11/1966
Kansas City Royals	3	1	7/5/2004	7/7/2004
Los Angeles Angels	3	1	6/24/1978	6/26/1978
Los Angeles Dodgers	3	3	8/5/2007	8/8/2007
Milwaukee Brewers	3	1	5/3/1972	5/6/1972
Minnesota Twins	4	1	9/19/1958	9/22/1958
New York Mets	3	3	7/25/1992	7/27/1992
New York Yankees	3	3	7/27/1975	7/28/1975
Oakland Athletics	3	4	9/9/1979	9/12/1979
Philadelphia Phillies	3	7	5/20/1983	5/24/1983
Pittsburgh Pirates	3	3	8/28/1968	8/30/1968
San Diego Padres	3	3	7/5/1976	7/7/1976
San Francisco Giants	3	3	6/23/1992	6/25/1992
Seattle Mariners	2	23	7/21/2007	7/22/2007
St. Louis Cardinals	3	2	10/2/1976	10/3/1976
Tampa Bay Rays	2	4	4/28/2004	4/29/2004
Texas Rangers	4	1	9/1/1964	9/5/1964
Toronto Blue Jays	3	2	8/24/1990	8/26/1990
Washington Nationals	3	3	4/13/2004	4/15/2004

That table might not have been particularly thrilling. I do think it's interesting how the Mariners have hit two games in a row so often but never quite made it to three in a row. While I was looking up shutout data, I decided to check out the number of times shut out and total games played for each franchise since 1956. Obviously expansion teams have played fewer games and many have the advantage of playing in more run-friendly era for most of their existence, but it should be interesting nonetheless.

Times Shut Out and Games Played, 1956-2007

Team	Times Shut Out	Total Games Played	SHO%
New York Mets	530	7320	7.24
San Diego Padres	447	6194	7.22
Washington Nationals	437	6188	7.06
Los Angeles Angels	523	7487	6.99
Houston Astros	502	7329	6.85
Chicago Cubs	548	8257	6.64
Philadelphia Phillies	543	8253	6.58
Texas Rangers	487	7473	6.52
Pittsburgh Pirates	532	8248	6.45
Minnesota Twins	520	8254	6.30
Atlanta Braves	518	8248	6.28
Los Angeles Dodgers	516	8258	6.25
Oakland Athletics	511	8256	6.19
Tampa Bay Rays	100	1617	6.18
Baltimore Orioles	505	8239	6.13
St. Louis Cardinals	505	8251	6.12
Kansas City Royals	376	6181	6.08
Cleveland Indians	501	8238	6.08
San Francisco Giants	496	8257	6.01
Chicago White Sox	486	8254	5.89
Detroit Tigers	482	8257	5.84
Florida Marlins	136	2363	5.76
Milwaukee Brewers	355	6189	5.74
New York Yankees	469	8252	5.68
Seattle Mariners	277	4899	5.65
Arizona Diamondbacks	90	1620	5.56
Toronto Blue Jays	271	4900	5.53
Cincinnati Reds	452	8253	5.48
Boston Red Sox	444	8251	5.38
Colorado Rockies	114	2368	4.81

I'm Forever Walking Batters...

It's always frustrating when the reliever your favorite team's manager has just brought into the game issues a base on balls. His job is to go out there and record outs, not give up free baserunners. After all, the whole game he's been sitting in the bullpen waiting to be turned loose on enemy hitters, mowing them down with a vicious display of pitching prowess. Okay, maybe that's overstating the case for some relievers but, regardless, any pitcher's job is to get outs, first and foremost. Anyone paying attention to Brewers games this season and the latter half of last season knows about the torrent of boos that rain down on Derrick Turnbow when he walks a batter. I'm sure fans of other teams know of similar relievers that inspire dread when it's apparent, once again, their control has left them.

With that in mind, I looked up the longest streaks of consecutive appearances by a relief pitcher with at least one walk issued. In order to exclude, as much as possible, long relievers who may be called upon to throw three, four or more innings, I set the maximum length of each outing to two innings pitched. Only twelve times (by eleven pitchers) since 1956 has a pitcher had ten or more such consecutive brief relief appearances in which he's issued one or more walks. Note that some pitchers on this list may have had starts in between relief appearances (I'm looking at you, Jimmy Haynes).

Consecutive Relief Appearances (≤2 IP) with 1+ BB
1956-2008

• Dan Warthen, 7-17-1976 to 9-4-1978, 13 games
• Jimmy Haynes, 7-24-1996 to 9-29-2001, 12 games
  Dave Weathers, 8-8-1991 to 10-6-1991, 12 games
• John Hudek, 9-10-1998 to 5-4-1999, 11 games
  Mitch Williams, 5-26-1992 to 6-18-1992, 11 games
  
• Chad Cordero, 4-28-2004 to 5-21-2004, 10 games
  Franklyn German, 6-20-2003 to 9-3-2003, 10 games
  Rob Dibble, 9-17-1993 to 6-17-1995, 10 games
  John Wetteland, 8-6-1992 to 9-1-1992, 10 games
  Don Stanhouse, 7-7-1979 to 8-19-1979, 10 games
  Ryne Duren, 5-20-1962 to 6-13-1962, 10 games
  Ryne Duren, 5-6-1960 to 6-19-1960, 10 games

The longest active streak (through 4/10/2008) belongs to the aforementioned Derrick Turnbow, at 5 games (I didn't actually know that when I started this post). Jonathan Meloan, Ryan Bukvich, and Rocky Cherry also have active five-game streaks, but they have not pitched in the majors so far this season.

Anti-DiMaggios

Fifty-six is one of those special baseball numbers. Today, people start to get excited when someone has a hitting streak half as long as Joe DiMaggio's, a fact I think underlines just how special that record is. No one seems to get excited about the converse of his record, the most consecutive games without a hit. There are good reasons for that. Baseball fans tend not to like futility and it's a type of streak that's somewhat hard to follow. Sure, an everyday player that doesn't get a hit for a few games might get noticed on the local level, but the longest hitless streaks are put together by pinch hitters who usually have one at bat per game. As such, it's less notable when they don't get a hit. Someone might say, "he doesn't have a hit since..." but that doesn't really spark a recollection of all the games he's been in recently, does it? Another hurdle is the MLB rule for hitting streaks: to count as a game played, a player must have an at bat or sacrifice fly. A pinch hitter that draws a walk has still done his job, but it doesn't count as a game played in terms of his streak.

With all that in mind, here are the twenty-four pinch hitters and other non-pitchers over the last fifty-two seasons to go without a hit in twenty or more straight games.

Most Consecutive Hitless Games, 1956-2007
Player must have at least 1 AB or SF in each game

Name	Start	End	G	AB
Harry Anderson	07-05-1960	04-30-1961	29	35
Andy Fox	05-05-2004	09-30-2004	28	38
Phil Gagliano	05-03-1974	10-01-1974	26	27
Phil Stephenson	07-26-1992	10-02-1992	25	35
Charlie Manuel	07-20-1969	10-01-1969	23	36
Lou Camilli	08-09-1969	04-20-1971	23	34
Len Matuszek	04-19-1982	09-07-1983	23	34
Jim Fairey	07-31-1972	09-22-1972	23	27
Del Unser	09-07-1981	06-06-1982	23	27
Norm Siebern	09-15-1966	05-12-1967	22	36
Jeff Grotewold	08-19-1992	06-12-1995	22	23
Dave Campbell	05-18-1973	09-18-1973	21	43
Jose Gonzalez	10-03-1990	07-04-1991	21	32
Floyd Wicker	05-16-1969	08-22-1969	21	24
George Wilson	06-27-1956	08-23-1956	21	21
Richie Hebner	08-15-1985	09-26-1985	21	21
Joe McEwing	05-26-2002	07-05-2002	20	33
Rocky Nelson	07-25-1961	09-29-1961	20	29
Mike Fiore	09-05-1970	06-09-1971	20	29
Willie Smith	04-24-1971	09-28-1971	20	25
Adrian Garrett	09-21-1971	05-04-1973	20	23
Tom Hutton	04-27-1981	08-30-1981	20	23
Dwight Smith	06-03-1995	07-14-1995	20	20
John Vander Wal	08-08-2004	09-17-2004	20	20

As you can see, most of these guys were one at bat and done for most of their games. Dave Campbell's streak is notable because he actually averaged two at bats per game.

Just for kicks, I looked up the longest active streaks: Laynce Nix of the Brewers has a 12-game streak going. Brandon Fahey of the Orioles has an 11-game streak, as does Nick Green of the Yankees. Free agent Mark Bellhorn and Pete Laforest of the Phillies have 10-game streaks. Of these five, only Fahey has a real shot to make a major league roster to start the year, though Nick Green has yet to be sent to the minors.

Longest GIDP Streaks

I know I've kind of gone crazy with double play posts recently but bear with me. While I've had some dubious results using the Streak Finder part of the Baseball-Reference Play Index in the past, I think this is pretty legitimate. The tool searches from 1957 through 2007, so these are the players with one or more GIDP in five or more consecutive games over the last fifty-one seasons.

1. Mike Lowell, 5 games, 7/28/2004 to 8/3/2004
2. Nomar Garciaparra, 5 games, 6/4/1998 to 6/8/1998
3. Ken Singleton, 5 games, 8/14/1982 to 8/20/1982
4. Jim Rice, 5 games, 7/2/1982 to 7/5/1982 (Game 2)
5. Joe Lis, 5 games, 9/8/1973 to 9/16/1973

According to the MLB Rulebook:

A consecutive-game hitting streak shall not be terminated if all the player's plate appearances (one or more) results in a base on balls, hit batsman, defensive interference or a sacrifice bunt. The streak shall terminate if the player has a sacrifice fly and no hit. The player's individual consecutive-game hitting streak shall be determined by the consecutive games in which the player appears and is not determined by his club's games.

If you apply the same standard to GIDP streaks, Lou Piniella in 1980 had a five game streak from 9/11 to 9/17 even though he drew a pinch-hit intentional walk in the game on September 12 of that year. Greg Norton also would hold the record streak since 1957 with six consecutive games from 9/12/1998 to 9/20/1998 with a pinch hit base on balls in between on September 14.

Consecutive Games with 1+ Home Run Allowed

Pitchers hate giving up home runs. Not only does it mean the score of the game changes and momentum swings to the other team, but it's also the only sure way to increase your ERA as opposed to someone else's (at least for relievers). The most home runs allowed in a single season is currently fifty by Bert Blyleven in 1986. In baseball history, only 404 pitchers have given up 30 or more home runs in one season.

I want to look at the most consecutive games giving up at least one home run. It's likely the higher numbers will be held by starting pitchers simply because they throw more innings than relievers and relievers face fewer batters in every game. As a result, I'll make two lists: one for starters and one for relievers. The lists only cover years since 1957 since that's how far back retrosheet's data (used in the Baseball-Reference Play Index) goes.


Most Consecutive Games with a Home Run Allowed by a Starting Pitcher

1. Bert Blyleven, 9/8/86 to 6/10/87, 20 games, 36 HR allowed during streak
   
2. Curt Young, 6/3/87 to 9/26/87, 19 games, 28 HR
3. Ramon Ortiz, 5/1/05 to 7/17/05, 15 games, 22 HR
4. Mark Leiter, 4/17/96 to 7/4/96, 15 games, 19 HR
5. John Thomson, 5/17/02 to 8/3/02, 14 games, 18 HR
6. Dennis Rasmussen, 7/10/86 to 9/29/86, 14 games, 18 HR
7. Dick Tidrow, 9/10/73 to 5/26/74, 14 games, 19 HR
8. Orlando Pena, 7/3/64 to 9/7/64, 14 games, 19 HR
9. Edgar Gonzalez, 8/29/04 to 4/28/07, 13 games, 18 HR
10. Runelvys Hernandez, 10/2/05 to 8/10/06, 13 games, 18 HR
11. Steve Parris, 7/31/02 to 5/6/03, 13 games, 21 HR
12. Steve Trachsel, 5/25/99 to 7/30/99, 13 games, 20 HR
13. Dave Johnson, 5/23/90 to 7/23/90, 13 games, 17 HR

Tidrow, Pena, and Gonzalez all made relief appearances between their starts, so they may not necessarily belong on the list. If you take them out you're left with a convenient top ten list.

Most Consecutive Games with a Home Run Allowed by a Relief Pitcher

1. Pete Smith, 5/21/95 to 5/19/97, 6 games, 7 HR
2. Jay Hook, 6/27/61 to 7/22/61, 6 games, 7 HR
3. Roman Colon, 5/19/06 to 6/12/06, 5 games, 5 HR
4. Ron Mahay, 5/9/02 to 5/23/02, 5 games, 6 HR
5. Jason Standridge, 8/22/01 to 05/16/02, 5 games, 6 HR
6. Mike Trombley, 7/11/99 to 7/21/99, 5 games, 5 HR
7. Dave Stevens, 7/12/96 to 8/12/96, 5 games, 5 HR
8. Eric Plunk, 7/31/91 to 9/3/91, 5 games, 5 HR
9. Mark Williamson, 7/25/90 to 8/4/90, 5 games, 5 HR
10. Pete Filson, 4/27/86 to 9/8/87, 5 games, 6 HR
11. Doug Corbett, 8/15/86 to 9/1/86, 5 games, 5 HR
12. Bob Stoddard, 8/9/83 to 8/22/83, 5 games, 6 HR
13. Tom Hall, 8/18/74 to 9/17/74, 5 games, 5 HR
14. Bob Heffner, 5/14/65 to 7/10/65, 5 games, 6 HR
15. Lee Strange, 6/22/64 to 7/17/64, 5 games, 5 HR
16. Julio Navarro, 5/3/64 to 5/21/64, 5 games, 6 HR
17. Luis Arroyo, 7/8/62 to 7/22/62, 5 games, 5 HR
18. Tom Gorman, 7/7/57 to 8/2/57, 5 games, 5 HR

The italicized players had starts between their relief appearances, so they might not belong on the list. It looks like 1986-1987 was a tough year for starters and relievers in the home run department.

The player with the longest active streak is Victor Santos who gave up home runs in seven straight appearances with Cincinnati and Baltimore. To break it up into the categories here, he has allowed at least one home run in his last four relief appearances and last three starts.

Not So Sweet Relief

Here's a list of the longest streaks of giving up one run (whether earned or not) or more in relief appearances. Starts may be in between relief appearances for some of these guys.

• Players to give up at least one run in 14 consecutive appearances
• Benj Sampson, 6/12/1999 to 8/19/1999
• Players to give up at least one run in 13 consecutive appearances
• Tanyon Sturtze, 6/9/2004 to 8/31/2004
• Sammy Stewart, 4/30/1983 to 6/11/1983
• Players to give up at least one run in 12 consecutive appearances
• Steve Shields, 9/18/1985 to 7/5/1986
• Dave Lemanczyk, 9/16/1978 to 6/29/1980
• Allen Ripley, 7/7/1979 to 9/16/1979
• Players to give up at least one run in 11 consecutive appearances
• Tanyon Sturtze, 7/17/1997 to 4/25/2000
• John Davis, 5/8/1988 to 7/17/1988
• Steve Baker, 4/21/1979 to 4/7/1983
• Bryan Clark, 7/3/1982 to 8/21/1982
• Shane Rawley, 7/14/1978 to 8/18/1978
• Steve Dunning, 8/13/1973 to 6/11/1976
• Claude Raymond, 7/9/1964 to 8/16/1964
• Jack Meyer, 6/19/1959 to 8/21/1959
• Players to give up at least one run in 10 consecutive apperances
• Marty McLeary, 8/22/2004 to 5/19/2007 (active)
• Joaquin Benoit, 7/13/2003 to 6/13/2004
• Travis Miller, 8/1/1997 to 8/7/1998
• Danny Graves, 8/31/1997 to 5/17/1998
• Carl Willis, 9/26/1986 to 5/8/1991
• Dave Gumpert, 9/28/1986 to 5/29/1987
• Jon Matlack, 7/8/1978 to 7/19/1982
• John Verhoeven, 6/28/1980 to 8/2/1980
• Paul Reuschel, 8/8/1978 to 7/29/1979
• Jim Shellenback, 5/23/1974 to 9/10/1977
• Don Kirkwood, 6/20/1977 to 8/14/1977
• Dave Pagan, 5/7/1977 to 7/4/1977
• Bill Butler, 4/11/1975 to 7/20/1975
• Craig Anderson, 8/19/1962 to 5/19/1964
• Ray Daviault, 4/13/1962 to 7/15/1962
• Wally Burnette, 5/12/1957 to 7/25/1957

I wonder if Benj Sampson knows he's a record-holder?