On Tuesday night, Red Sox infielder Romy Gonzalez’s major league-leading hit streak ended at 14 games, as he went 0 for 5 with no walks in his team’s 2-1 to the Athletics (71-80).
Coming into Tuesday, the 29-year-old was batting .434 with a .954 OPS and 10 RBI over the course of his streak. Those numbers will go down after his poor performance in game one of Boston’s three-game series with Oakland.
For most of this season, Gonzalez primarily served as a specialist against left-handers. But a combination of injuries and slumping teammates has thrust Gonzalez into a more regular role. And with these added opportunities batting against both arms, to use Gonzalez’s oft-quoted words from July 7, the man has been “tremendously locked in.”
While 14 games is an impressive mark, he still had a long way to go before making history.
As we all know, the major league record for consecutive games with a hit is 56, a record owned by Yankees legend Joe DiMaggio set way back in 1941. No one is ever sniffing that number.
But oddly enough, the Red Sox franchise record is also owned by DiMaggio.
And by DiMaggio, I mean his younger brother Dom.
The seven-time All-Star center fielder had a 34-game hit streak of his own, a mark that only Bradley’s 29 ever came close to touching. The younger DiMaggio’s streak surpassed the previous record held by Hall of Fame center fielder Tris Speaker, who had a 30-game hit streak in 1912.
Here’s a list of some of the longest hit streaks in Red Sox history:
• 34 Games - Dom DiMaggio in 1949
• 30 Games - Tris Speaker in 1912
• 30 Games - Nomar Garciaparra in 1997
• 29 Games - Johnny Damon in 2005
• 29 Games - Jackie Bradley Jr. in 2016
• 28 Games - Wade Boggs in 1985
• 27 Games - David Ortiz in 2012-13
• 27 Games - Manny Ramirez in 2006
• 26 Games - Johnny Pesky in 1947
After a slash line of .266/.306/.417 in his first season with the team in 2024, expectations for Gonzalez heading into this season were basically nonexistent. For Boston to have gotten what they’ve gotten out of Gonzalez is a testament to both his hard work as well as the organization for finding the niche that has unlocked him at the plate.