Bradley Jr. extends hit streak on DiMaggio anniversary
If he keeps this up, June 25 will be the most historic day of Jackie Bradley Jr.'s career.
On Sunday, the Boston Red Sox outfielder extended his MLB-best hit streak to 21 games - the same date Joe DiMaggio began his record hitting streak of 56 games.
June 25 in Texas would be the day Bradley breaks that record.
What's most impressive about Bradley's streak is that he isn't just punching singles through the infield - he's the primary producer for the league's hottest batting order.
Since April 24, Bradley is leading the majors in OPS, slugging, RBIs, and extra-base hits.
| Games | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG/OBP/SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Last 7 Games | 32 | 6 | 15 | 3 | 15 | 1 | 3 | .469/.485/.813 |
| Last 15 Games | 58 | 11 | 26 | 5 | 20 | 4 | 10 | .448/.484/.845 |
| Last 30 Games | 112 | 17 | 39 | 6 | 26 | 7 | 25 | .348/.397/.634 |
Bradley's emergence follows struggles in the last two seasons. With all the hype surrounding him, the former first-round pick batted .198 in 2014 and a modest .249 last year in 74 games.
He had a phenomenal August, though, and seems to have recovered that form in 2016.
"I never lost confidence. Never," Bradley told ESPN's Scott Lauber early this week. "I wouldn't know how tough it would be to regain. I think it's just a sign that I'm kind of taking what's given to me. If they pitch away, I just want to be able to square it up. I'm not thinking about going the other way.
"I'm just thinking about putting the fat part of the bat on the ball and wherever it goes, it goes."