Phillies star has his 45-game on-base streak snapped after he reaches base
With his 45-game streak of reaching base safely in jeopardy, Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Odubel Herrera come up to bat in the ninth inning on Sunday with one goal in mind.
The Phillies were losing to the Cardinals 5-1, and with two outs and no one on base, they had little chance of making a comeback. Herrera, however, had an opportunity to reach base in his 46th straight game, a feat only three other Phillies have ever accomplished.
Unfortunately for Herrera, he would go on to reach base safely, but his streak still ended.
How did that happen? Well, facing Cardinals flamethrower Jordan Hicks, Herrera struck out swinging when he couldn’t hold up on a nasty 104-mph fastball in the dirt.
The ball, however, got away from the catcher and rolled to the backstop. Herrera stood motionless in front of the plate, as he seemed unsure of whether or not he had actually gone around on the pitch.
Eventually, Herrera realized he should probably start running, and though Cardinals catcher Francisco Pena eventually found the ball and threw to first, Herrera was already safe.
Even though he did reach safely, his at-bat would count for nothing more than a strikeout on his official statistics.
At least in the eyes of the Phillies and their fans, though, Herrera had kept his streak alive.
After the game, which the Phillies lost, Herrera didn’t seem too upset that his streak had ended.
“It’s part of the game, that’s part of baseball,” he said through an interpreter, according to MLB.com. “At some point the streak had to end. Now I’m looking forward to starting a new streak.”
Manager Gabe Kapler, meanwhile, was just impressed that Herrera was in the company of Phillies greats like Mike Schmidt, Bobby Abreu and Chuck Klein, all of whom had on-base streaks of more than 45 games.
“What an incredible accomplishment,” Kapler said. “I was looking at the list before the game of guys who have reached base somewhere in that many games and wow there are some Hall of Famers, some perennial All-Stars on that list, so he’s in good company.”
Streak or no streak, the 26-year-old Herrera, who’s currently in his fourth major league season, is coming into his own as one of the best outfielders in baseball.
He currently leads the National League in batting average (.348) and is getting on base more than 41 percent of the time. He’s also smashed seven home runs and driven in 30 runs.
“I think he’s among the most entertaining players in baseball,” Kapler said last week, per the Philadelphia Inquirer. “Taking the big swing and the helmet comes off. He’s fun to watch. He continues to square the baseball up. He continues to get on base via the walk and seems more comfortable with that than he was last year. Good all-around baseball player and exceptional offensive player right now.”
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