Kansas City Royals history was made at Kauffman Stadium on Wednesday night.
In the seventh inning against the Mariners (GameTracker), professional pest Whit Merrifield beat out a squeeze bunt that not only tied the game, but also extended his hitting streak to 31 games. That is a new franchise record.
Here's the record breaking hit:
Hall of Famer George Brett held the previous franchise record at 30 games. He did it in 1980. The 2019 season is only two weeks old, so of course Merrifield's 31-game hit streak dates back to last season. It dates back to September 10, to be precise.
Don't consider Merrifield's hitting streak the new franchise record because it spans two seasons? That fine, but the Royals themselves acknowledged Merrifield's streak as the new record:
Merrifield's streak is the 11th hitting streak of at least 30 games since the turn of the century. Here are the five longest hitting streaks in Royals history:
Whit Merrifield: 31 games and counting (2018-19)George Brett: 30 games (1980)Jose Offerman: 27 games (1998)George Brett: 25 games (1982-83)Mike Sweeney: 25 games (1999)A number of fans and observers don't consider hit streaks to be legitimate unless they occur within a single season, but MLB's listing of the longest hit streaks indeed includes those that cross offseasons, including the second-longest streak ever.
