Betts has yet to strike out this season, streak reaches 105 at-bats
Last season, Jackie Bradley Jr. went on a torrid hit-streak lasting 29 games. However, the 2017 season will feature a streak from a different Boston Red Sox outfielder, as Mookie Betts has yet to strikeout this year.
Betts has started his 2017 campaign with 36 consecutive at-bats without being retired on strikes. Dating back to the 2016 season, that streak is extended to Betts' last 105 at-bats - or his last 27 games.
In historical context, Betts' streak ranks among some pretty elite talent. Since 1994, these are the best all-time streaks of at-least 100 at-bats without a strikeout:
| Player | Games | AB | BA | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Gwynn | 39 | 156 | .404 | .564 |
| Juan Pierre | 30 | 127 | .378 | .480 |
| Juan Pierre | 31 | 126 | .405 | .532 |
| Tony Gwynn | 32 | 125 | .440 | .576 |
| Mookie Betts | 27 | 105 | .356 | .426 |
| Lenny Harris | 29 | 103 | .301 | .388 |
Betts is joining some impressive company and is just more than two-thirds the way to tying Gwynn's mark from the 1995 season. Remarkably, Betts is just the fourth hitter to accomplish this feat in the past 23 seasons, as both Gwynn and Pierre pulled it off multiple times.
Like many MLB records, the all-time streak of at-bats without a strikeout is likely untouchable. It's held by Joe Sewell who, in the 1929 season, had 436 consecutive at-bats without striking out - a streak that spanned 115 games.