Dodger's Andre Ethier ties Cal McVey’s 30 game hit streak

Did you know that Cal McVey pitched in 31 MLB games, going 9-12 with a 3.76 ERA?

Me neither. I’d never heard of the guy until I looked up MLB’s all-time longest consecutive game hit streaks, and saw McVey hit in 30 in a row, back in 1876. McVey played all over the place in his 4-year career, mostly infield, but some catcher and a game in leftfield. If you care enough, you can check his numbers here: http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=mcveyca01

Cal, in the Hub

With Andre Ethier's, there have now been 54 officially recognized MLB hitting streaks of 30 games or longer in MLB history, starting with McVey’s, and ending with Ethier’s, whose streak ended at 30 last night in New York.

As one might expect, there are some surprising names on the list:
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/feats/feats-streak.shtml

To me, the most recent ‘surprises’ are the Dodger’s Ken Landreaux (30 in a row in 1980), (the despised by NY Met fans) Luis Castillo (35 for Florida in 2002), and the immortal Jerome Walton (30 for the Cubs in 1989).

Ethier hits another walk off homer

Similarly, there are some names one might expect to see on this list, that aren’t there. Off the top of my head the biggest surprises to have never hit in at least 30 in a row are: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Al Simmons, Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, Rod Carew, Tony Gwynn, and Wade Boggs.

So, 54 streaks of 30 games or more works out to a bit more than 1 every three years in MLB history.  There are almost twice the number of teams now than there were in 1960 and prior, so I’d expect to see a higher percentage from 1961 on, and that’s true. There have been 24 streaks of 30+ since 1961.

I don’t know what kind of conclusion there is to be drawn from looking at the list, except that an overwhelming number of the players on the list were very good to Hall of Fame caliber hitters. There are only 3 names (other than McVey) on the list that I don’t recognize, and all four were pre-1900 players.

I don’t know how truly important Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak is (or was), other than that it’s one of those instantly recognized numbers in sports. For years many of us age 40-years and older were told repeatedly how great DiMaggio was by baseball writers and broadcasters. Beyond that we’ve been told that no one will ever break his record because of any number of reasons. One reason might’ve been that DiMaggio demanded to be introduced as the "Greatest Living MLB Player" at any event he attended? How could anyone break a "God’s" record? The flip side of this was Williams being a surly young SOB that few if any sportswriters liked, so in retrospect it was no surprise at all that it was DiMaggio that won the 1941 American League MVP Award.

Look, I am not here to insult the memory of DiMaggio (that much), but as fabulous as his 56 game hitting streak was, his 1941 season was not nearly as good as Ted Williams season was that year.

DiMaggio hit .408 during his streak. Over the same period of time that year, Williams hit .422. Williams hit .406 for the season in 1941, which was the last time anyone hit .400 or better. Williams hit 7 more homers, scored 22 more runs (leading the league in both), hit almost 50 points higher, and slugged almost 100 points higher than DiMaggio, and missed by 5 RBI of winning the Triple Crown.

This one or that one?

For good measure, Ted Williams on-base percentage that year was .553, which was the best of all time until some guy named Bonds surpassed it in 2002, so in many minds, it’s still the best mark of all time.

By all accounts, Andre Ethier is a nice young man, and very talented hitter.  I have no clue what kind of guy Cal McVey was.  He died at the age of 76 in San Francisco, in 1926. 

In 1926, Joe DiMaggio was a 12-year old kid living in San Francsco as well, 10 years before his MLB debut.  Joe grew up to be a socially insecure tight-wad, who spent most of his adult life doing everything he could to protect what turned out to be a very flawed image.

The best hitter that ever lived

In 1926, Ted Williams was an 8-year old kid, scrambling around sand lots in San Diego, honing an image of being a rasty brat that didn't give a rats ass about his image, whether he was giving the finger to Red Sox cranks, or being a Marine fighter pilot in the Korean War.

A jolt of joe

Joe apparently sent roses to Marilyn Monroe's grave every day for years, sold our mom's Mr. Coffee's, and became increasingly greedy and withdrawn as the years went by.

Ted led the Hall of Fame Veternan's committee that put a huge number of African-American ball players in the Hall, became one of the world's best bone fisherman, and finally tipped his hat to the crowd.

From Cal in 1876, to Andre in 2011, and the stories about that mystical 56 game hitting streak by Joe, just always remember that in 1941, Ted was the better hitter, and in life the better man.

What do you think, Marilyn?