Dan Uggla’s Hitting Streak Is Over After 33 Games

Major League Baseball's unlikeliest hit streak has come to an end, as Dan Uggla went 0-3 with a sacrifice fly against the Cubs Sunday. His 33-game streak is the new benchmark for the Atlanta Braves organization.

The last time Uggla failed to record a hit was July 4 against the Rockies. After that game, his batting average for the season was .173.

More than a month later, Uggla had captured baseball's imagination. How can someone in the midst of the worst season of his career compile the best hit streak in the majors since Chase Utley's 35-game streak in 2006? How can a hitter like Dan Uggla, just barely batting over .250 in his career, reach a plateau only a handful of people in history have matched.

Names not on the list of 30-game hit streaks? Tony Gwynn, Rod Carew, Lou Gehrig, Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron. Dignitaries along the lines of Uggla on the list include Willie Taveras, Benito Santiago, Jerome Walton and Eric Davis. Lofty company.

Uggla's streak almost continued, were it not for Darwin Barney's diving grab of a line drive off Uggla's bat in his second at-bat. Uggla grounded out to Starlin Castro in his fourth and final plate appearance in the seventh inning. He wouldn't get another chance to extend the streak.