Garrett who? Wittels. If things continue to go smoothly, the Florida Internaional sophomore should enter the record books next week. For he has had at least one hit in every game he has played for his college this season. At the time of writing, that would be 54 consecutive games, the second-longest streak in NCAA Division I history - Robin Ventura hit in 58 straight games for Oklahoma State back in 1987. [UPDATE: Wittels extended the streak to 55 on Friday afternoon.]
Garrett Wittels Approaches Baseball History
However, it’s possible that we might have to wait until next year for a resolution to this one. Wittels’ next game is the first round of the NCAA regional on Friday in Coral Gables, where FIU will take on Texas A&M. So it’s possible Wittels could keep his streak going, but his team still gets eliminated from the tournament before Ventura’s mark is reached. That wouldn’t invalidate the record - the Division III mark of 60 games, by Damian Costantino of Salve Regina, was set over three years, from 2001-03.
Still, there's no denying how impressive a feat it is. In the entire recorded history of the game, even a 50-game streak has only been managed by a single major-leaguer (Joe DiMaggio, naturally) and four minor-leaguers. Incredibly, one of those was also DiMaggio, who had a 61-game streak for the San Francisco Seals in the 1933 Pacific Coast League.
That was still eight short of the all-time mark, however, set in 1919 by the little known Joe Wilhoit, for the Wichita Jobbers of the Western League. From June 14 to August 19, he went 153-for-297, a .515 BA. He had already appeared in over 275 major-league contests before that season, but hardly got to play again - his final game was on September 25 that same year.
It’s something that Wittles should bear in mind: for every Robin Ventura - 16 seasons, six-time Gold Glover - there’s a Phil Stephenson. or a Roger Schmuck. Those two are ranked #3 and #4 on the college streak list, at 47 and 45 games respectively. But Stephenson managed less than two hundred games in the majors, and Schmuck never got to the big show at all. While the streak is nice, it’s clearly no guarantee of anything more than a footnote in history.
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