Tim Kurkjian writes about how Johnny Damon’s recently-ended 29-game hitting streak is perhaps not getting the respect it deserves:
To appreciate 29 in a row, understand that Lou Gehrig never hit safely in 20 straight games, Ted Williams’ longest streak was 23 and Babe Ruth’s ended at 26. The longest streaks of two of the best hitters of the last 50 years, Tony Gwynn and Wade Boggs, were 25 and 28 games, respectively.
You kind of understand (as Kurkjian points out later in the article) why power hitters such as Williams and Ruth don’t get on long streaks - they tend to walk a lot and also to bat 3rd and 4th, thus giving them less at-bats. But to have a better streak than Boggs or Gwynn - that’s impressive. Of, Luis Castillo had a 30+ game streak back in 2002, and no one’s saying he’s a great hitter, but still, kudos is due to Damon.