By Scott Barancik
A freak injury on June 23 halted Zack Gelof‘s hit streak at 24 games. After flying out in the first inning against rival San Francisco, the Athletics utility man was trying to tag out runner Matt Chapman at second base when Chapman accidentally stepped on his throwing hand. Gelof left the game immediately, thus ending MLB’s longest active streak. The good news is that x-rays were negative, and Gelof did not need stitches. The 24-game streak places Gelof at No. 4 in Jewish major-league history, behind Shawn Green‘s 28-game streak with the Blue Jays in 1999, Gabe Kapler‘s 28-game stretch with the Rangers in 2000, and Ian Kinsler‘s 28-game streak with the Rangers in 2008, according to historian Bob Wechsler.
When Gelof launched his 24-game hit streak on May 25, he entered the game hitting .228 (26-for-114) with 6 HRs, 17 RBIs, and a .714 OPS. By the time the streak ended, he was hitting .282 (59-for-209) with 11 HRs, 29 RBIs, and an .834 OPS. So far this season, Gelof is hitting 16.7% of his batted balls to the opposite field and striking out at a rate of 24.1%, both career bests.
Here’s wishing Zack a speedy recovery.ents at the plate, check out MLB Network’s recent breakdown of the streak, which aired shortly after Gelof extended it to 22 games.
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