I have heard broadcast play by play announcers discussing on-base streaks. As you might imagine, it is much easier to earn your way on base than just by a hit. This list is a bit out of date, but the top remains the same. Twice hitters exceeded 70 games in a season. Joe DiMaggio set a record of 74 in 1941 as part of his hitting streak. Ted Williams blew that away in 1949 with an 84 game streak. I don’t think many people were award of the records at the time, as hits were paramount. Drawing a lot of walks can be detrimental to a hit streak, but they are great if you are trying to generate an on base streak.

The second thing I heard was in a recent Yankees broadcast, where they talked about Juan Soto providing protection for Aaron Judge by being on base so many times in front of him. I actually did a graphic about this at ESPN in 1992. George Bell joined the White Sox at season, near the end of his career, and he was driving in a lot of runs. Robin Ventura and Frank Thomas were batting in front of him, clogging up the bases. Bell saw the most runners on base that season, so opponents could not pitch around him. Bell was still good at generating power, and that led to lots of RBI. The takeaway is that there is more than one way to protect a power hitter.