No Excitement For Ethier

In my opinion, Joe Dimaggio's 56 game hitting streak is one of the hardest records to break in all professional sports. It's not impossible for someone to do, yet it is really hard to see someone stay that consistent over an extended time period.  So I pose the question, when is okay to start monitor a hitting streak?  When I say that I mean, a baseball fan whether from Arizona, Iowa, or Wisconsin refreshing their gamecast to see if the player  got a hit that night.

The Los Angeles Dodgers' Andre Ethier has now hit safely in 29 straight games, and the buzz around him is starting to build. Now, it could be that he plays for a team in Los Angeles and he is a pretty notable player, but still, the national media has their focus on Ethier.  It personally does not excite me if you look at the numbers.



If Ethier hits safely in his next game, he will be the twentieth player in Major League Baseball history to have hit in 30 straight games. In addition, it's only ranks 35th on consecutive hitting streaks according to the Baseball Almanac.  While exciting for the hometown fans, it should not draw attention from the national media. By the way, the media is spinning this story as the Dodgers could use a positive story for the 2011 season with their ownership problems and fan violence. Anytime a player gets a significant hitting streak, everyone think this is the one to beat Joltin' Joe. Ethier has the ability to take down the Yankee Clipper, but let's not ask those questions yet.  Let's start building the buzz about Ethier when he gets to 35 because we know America loves round numbers, so if I were to tell you he has a top 20 hitting streak at game 33, I would get looked at like I am a leper.

Ethier heads out to the city that never sleeps for a three games against the New York Mets, then it's off to Pittsburgh. Both pitching staffs are not stellar, and Ethier might get some good pitches to extend that hitting streak. Definitely keep an eye out for this story in coming weeks, but do not get too riled up about it... yet.

-Charlie.