The Longest Streaks of Consecutive Games in Which a Detroit Tiger Has Scored a Run

HERM KRABBENHOFT, a SABR member since 1981, had as his first baseball glove a MW (Montgomery Ward) Sporting Goods Model 4205 Joe Gordon Personal Model; his first baseball bat was an Adirondack Vic Wertz (two-tone) model. In the field, Krabbenhoft still uses his favorite glove, a JC Higgins model 1624 Professional Model (no player endorsement), which he got in 1957. At the plate, he currently uses an authentic Hillerich & Bradsby Co. model 125 Walt Streuli Louisville Slugger bat, style S2 (Vern Stephens).

Notes

The longest CGRUNS streak information for the years 1953/1954—2008 presented in tables 1 and 3 and all of the longest CGRUNS streak information presented in table 2 was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by Retrosheet. Interested parties may contact Retrosheet through its website, www.retrosheet.org.

1. H. Krabbenhoft, “The Authorized Corrections of Runs-Scored Errors in the Official Baseball Records (1945—2007) for Detroit Tigers Players,” Baseball Research Journal 37 (2008).

2. Some of the results described here were first announced in presentations at the meeting of the Don Lund SABR Chapter in Detroit (H. Krabbenhoft, “Charlie Maxwell—Still Scoring Runs for the Tigers,” 24 February 2007) and at the SABR National Convention in St. Louis (H. Krabbenhoft, “Approved Corrections to the Official Baseball Records for Runs and RBI by Detroit Tigers Players [1945—2006],” 26—29 July 2007).

3. S. Siwoff, The Elias Book of Baseball Records (New York: Elias Sports Bureau, 2008), 12.

4. The Complete Baseball Record and Fact Book, ed. S. Gietschier (St. Louis: Sporting News Books, 2008), 18.

5. For a time, Nellie Fox was credited with the AL record. Thus in the 1956 and 1957 editions of One for the Book (the direct precursor of The Complete Baseball Record and Fact Book), Nellie Fox of the Chicago White Sox was listed as the AL record holder with a 19-CGRUNS streak in 1954 (May 21 through June 9). However, in the 1958 edition (and all subsequent editions), Rolfe was again listed as the AL record holder. Similarly, in the 1957—64 editions of The Little Red Book of Baseball (the direct precursor of The Elias Book of Baseball Records), Nellie Fox was listed as the AL record holder with a 19-CGRUNS streak in 1954. However, in the 1965 edition (and all subsequent editions), Rolfe was again listed as the AL record holder. In actuality, Fox had an 8-CGRUNS streak (May 21 through May 29) and a 10-CGRUNS streak (May 31 through June 9); he did not score a run in the game he played on May 30.

6. Prior to my CGRUNS-streak-research efforts, Ted Kluszewski was credited as being the sole holder of the post-1900 record for the longest CGRUNS streak in the National League. Thus, in the 2007 edition of The Elias Book of Baseball Records (12), only Kluszewski was listed. That was the case for all previous editions (i.e., all the way back to the 1972 edition) as well as its direct precursor (The Little Red Book of Baseball), all the way back to the 1955 edition. In the 1948—54 editions of The Little Red Book of Baseball, Johnny Mize is listed as the sole holder of the NL record for the longest CGRUNS streak: 16 games in 1947. In the 1934—47 editions, Max Carey (in 1924) and Fred Lindstrom (in 1927) are listed as coholders of the NL record for the longest CGRUNS streak: 15 games. In the 1929—33 editions, Carey is listed as the sole holder of the NL record for the longest CGRUNS streak: 15 games in 1924. The record for scoring runs in consecutive games was not included in the 1926—28 editions. On January 28, 2007, while examining the 1921 official DBD records of Rogers Hornsby, I discovered that he had a 17-CGRUNS streak (July 3 through July 20). I proceeded to confirm the findings in the official DBD records by reference to the box scores presented in the New York Times as well as in the Retrosheet database. I communicated this information via e-mail (28 January 2007) to Seymour Siwoff of the Elias Sports Bureau. Seymour contacted me on January 29 and informed me that pursuant to my message he had just finished his own in-house box-score check and that it had corroborated my finding that Hornsby did indeed have a 17-CGRUNS streak in 1921. Unfortunately, Hornsby’s post-1900 NL- record 17-CGRUNS streak was inadvertently omitted in the 2008 edition of The Elias Book of Baseball Records (12). Fortunately, it is scheduled to be included in the 2009 edition.

7. The Official Baseball Rules (copyright 2008 by the Commissioner of Baseball) are available online at mlb.com. “Rule 10.23 Guidelines for Cumulative Performance Record” deals with consecutive streaks: consecutive hitting streaks, consecutive-game hitting streaks, and consecutive-game playing streaks. There is no reference to consecutive-game run-scoring streaks. With regard to consecutive-game hitting streaks, the rules state, “A consecutive-game hitting streak shall not be terminated if all of a batter’s plate appearances (one or more) in a game result in a base on balls, hit batsman, defensive interference or obstruction or a sacrifice bunt. The streak shall terminate if the player has a sacrifice fly and no hit.” With regard to consecutive-game playing streaks, the rules state, “A consecutive-game playing streak shall be extended if a player plays one half-inning on defense or if the player completes a time at bat by reaching base or being put out. A pinch-running appearance only shall not extend the streak.”

8. There can be situations in which a player completes at least one plate appearance in a game without scoring a run and yet that game does not terminate the CGRUNS streak. For example, consider the following scenario: The player is used as a pinch-hitter and gets on base by being hit by a pitch on the first pitch he receives; the player is then immediately replaced by a pinch-runner. Because the player did not have an opportunity to score a run (the ball is dead upon hitting the batter), that game does not terminate his CGRUNS streak. Another special case is when the player is used as a pinch-hitter and completes his sole plate appearance by hitting a sacrifice bunt. An argument can be made that, because a sacrifice bunt does not terminate a consecutive-game hitting streak (rule 10.23 (B)—see note 7 above), a sacrifice bunt should not terminate a CGRUNS streak. Nonetheless, for the CGRUNS-streaks research reported here, if a player had only one plate appearance in a game and that plate appearance was completed via a sacrifice bunt, that game did terminate the CGRUNS streak. My rationale for this is as follows: If a player in his only plate appearance completes a sacrifice bunt and simultaneously reaches first base as the result of an error and then subsequently scores, his CGRUNS streak would be extended; analogously, if he did not subsequently score, his CGRUNS streak would terminate. The player decides whether or not to attempt a sacrifice bunt, either on his own or on the instruction of his manager. Choosing to attempt a sacrifice bunt may be the correct strategy to follow for the betterment of the player’s team. But doing so does terminate the player’s CGRUNS streak (unless he gets on base via an error and then scores)—which is fine and proper: An individual achievement is (should) always (be) secondary to the team’s primary objective—scoring enough runs to win the game.

9. For example, using the uncorrected 1955 official DBD records results in Willie Mays’ being credited with a CGRUNS streak of 9, which was the longest CGRUNS streak in the National League (also achieved by Roy Campanella, Ted Kluszewski, and Johnny Logan). The official DBD records for Mays show that he scored at least one run in each of the 9 games he played from September 11 through September 21 [9—11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 20(1), 20(2), 21(1)]. However, according to the Retrosheet daily records, Mays did not score any runs in the first game on September 21. That Mays did not score a run in the September 21(1) game is corroborated by the complete play-by-play information (Retrosheet), the game account given in the New York Times, and the box score provided in The Sporting News (28 September 1955, page 30).

10. For a list of players “Most Consecutive Games Scoring a Run, since 1893,” see The SABR Baseball List and Record Book: Baseball’s Most Fascinating Records and Unusual Statistics, ed. L. Spatz (New York: Scribner, 2007), 144. The list consists of 16 players credited with CGRUNS streaks of at least 17 games (although Jack Tobin’s 17-CGRUNS streak for the 1921 St. Louis Browns is not included); 11 of the 16 players achieved their streaks prior to 1900, including the all-time leader Billy Hamilton—a 24-CGRUNS streak with the 1894 Philadelphia NL club. With regard to Jack Tobin’s 17-CGRUNS streak in 1921 (May 16— May 31), my examination of the official AL scoresheets and the pertinent box scores presented in the New York Times shows 100 percent agreement.

11. H. Krabbenhoft, “The Longest Consecutive Games RUN Batted In streaks by Detroit Tigers Players (1945—2007),” manuscript in preparation.