Odubel Herrera’s On-Base Streak Ended Even Though He Got On Base

Odubel Herrera didn’t start opening day, but since then, he’s been on fire: He leads the National League in batting average, at .344, and is 10th in slugging. (Yes, genius manager/ fedora wearer Gabe Kapler benched his best player, now a legit NL MVP candidate, for the first game of the season.) The Phillies are a surprising 26-18, and Herrera is a major factor in their success.

Amazingly, Herrera has reached base in every game in which he’s had a plate appearance this season, including a game where he pinch-hit and was hit by a pitch. Counting a short streak at the end of last season, Herrera had reached base in 45 straight games coming into yesterday.

And then, in the ninth inning of a game against the Cardinals, he reached first base and somehow ended his on-base streak.

Herrera struck out on a swing he couldn’t quite check, but reached first on a wild pitch by flamethrower Jordan Hicks. For some reason, though, this doesn’t count as a continuation of his on-base streak; Herrera’s streak ends at 45 games.

Had Herrera reached first on a fielder’s choice, it would have made sense for an on-base streak to end. But in this case, he didn’t even make an out! He went to the plate, he ended his plate appearance on base, he continued the streak.

Herrera, for his part, didn’t seem too upset about the unfair casualty. The Inquirer only knew about the streak because he was reminded of it every day on social media.

“It’s part of the game, that’s part of baseball,” Herrera told reporters through an interpreter. “At some point the streak had to end. Now I’m looking forward to starting a new streak.”