August 06, 2007
Rodriguez's Streak
Alex Rodriguez scores a run.
Photo: Jeff Zelevansky/Icon SMI
It was noted in
this Sports Illustrated article that with his 100th run scored Saturday, Alex Rodriguez became the first player to hit 35 homers, drive in 100 runs and score 100 runs ten years in a row. However, the best streak among the three for Alex is the streak of scoring 100 runs a season:
Most consecutive seasons scoring at least 100 runs.
| Player | Streak |
| Lou Gehrig | 13 |
| Henry Aaron | 13 |
| Willie Mays | 12 |
| Alex Rodriguez | 12 |
| Stan Musial | 11 |
One would think some great leadoff man would be in the top five here, but Billy Hamilton finishes tied for sixth with ten straight season of 100 runs scored. It's just easier for great sluggers to score a lot of runs. All these hitters owned great OBAs, and with their power didn't depend on others to drive them in as much as a low power leadoff hitter.
Notice that over the time period of Alex's streak (1996-present), A-Rod scored nearly 100 runs more than his nearest competitor, Derek Jeter (the current Yankees employee the top three on the list). He gets on base, hits for power, and he's even a great base stealer, swiping bases with an 80% success rate. He's the complete offensive player.
Yeah, but he don't got them intangibles. Like, oh, Scott Brosius.
"It's just easier for great sluggers to score a lot of runs."
I disagree. Rickey Henderson was as good or better than these guys at scoring runs. He just wasn't as durable, plus the 1981 strike hurt has chance of putting up this kind of streak.
Sluggers drive themselves in 40+ times a year on homeruns. Of course they have a built-in advantage.
Henderson the best lead-off hitter of all-time couldn't match the streak but he might have save for the '87 season.
Nor could preeminent spark plugs like Raines, Butler, Molitor, Biggio and others, but sluggers like the not-so durable Chipper Jones, the very durable Jeff Bagwell, and others put together long streaks.
Bill