All of these players could spark an offense, but in a variety of different ways. So, what is the unusual batting feat that only they have achieved since 1914?
| Rk | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | Brady Anderson |
| 2 | Jose Bautista |
| 3 | Melky Cabrera |
| 4 | Coco Crisp |
| 5 | Mike Hargrove |
| 6 | Rex Hudler |
| 7 | Dick McAuliffe |
| 8 | Wally Moses |
| 9 | Kirby Puckett |
| 10 | Danny Tartabull |
| 11 | Tom Tresh |
Congratulations to Voomo Zanzibar (mostly) and RJ! They teamed up to identify that the quiz players are the only AL batters since 1914 to have homered in four consecutive games at the top of the batting order. Those streaks and more are after the jump.
Here are all such streaks, in both leagues.
| Rk | Strk Start | End | Games | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | Tm | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Melky Cabrera | 2014-04-04 | 2014-04-08 | 4 | 17 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | TOR |
| 2 | Coco Crisp | 2013-04-05 | 2013-04-09 | 4 | 19 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 6 | OAK |
| 3 | Jose Bautista | 2009-09-28 | 2009-10-02 | 4 | 19 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | TOR |
| 4 | Scott Hairston | 2008-07-05 | 2008-07-09 | 4 | 16 | 6 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 8 | SDP |
| 5 | Rex Hudler | 1996-05-19 | 1996-05-22 | 4 | 15 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | CAL |
| 6 | Brady Anderson | 1996-04-18 | 1996-04-21 | 4 | 16 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 | BAL |
| 7 | Barry Bonds | 1987-08-18 | 1987-08-21 | 4 | 15 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 7 | PIT |
| 8 | Kirby Puckett | 1986-04-30 | 1986-05-03 | 4 | 19 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 7 | MIN |
| 9 | Danny Tartabull | 1986-04-12 | 1986-04-15 | 4 | 16 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 12 | SEA |
| 10 | Lee Mazzilli | 1980-07-01 | 1980-07-04 | 4 | 16 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 7 | NYM |
| 11 | Mike Hargrove | 1977-08-11 | 1977-08-14 | 4 | 13 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 6 | TEX |
| 12 | Dick McAuliffe | 1969-04-24 | 1969-04-29 | 4 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | DET |
| 13 | Tom Tresh | 1966-08-14 | 1966-08-17 | 4 | 17 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | NYY |
| 14 | Wally Moses | 1937-07-21 | 1937-07-23 | 4 | 20 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 6 | PHA |
| 15 | Johnny Frederick | 1929-05-30 | 1929-06-04 | 4 | 20 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | BRO |
A couple of small asterisks:
- Scott Hairston’s streak was interrupted by one homerless game in which he batted 6th
- Dick McAuliffe’s streak was interrupted by one game that he didn’t play and another in which he pinch-hit (and didn’t homer) in the number 9 spot
As mentioned by our readers, Danny Tartabull’s streak came during his only stint batting leadoff, starting the 1986 season. Similar story for Jose Bautista who has batted leadoff for Toronto only over the last two weeks of the 2009 season and the first two weeks of the 2010 season (plus a handful of other scattered games in those two campaigns).
