Throughout the 2016 season Roar from 34 will use Flashback Fridays to remember the 1966 Baltimore Orioles and to honor the 50th anniversary of the franchise’s first World Series title.
Jackie Bradley Jr.’s season-best 29-game hit streak for the Boston Red Sox ended on Thursday versus the Colorado Rockies. Manny Machado has had the best run for the Orioles so far this season with his 16-game hit streak in April. That was more than halfway to Eric Davis’ team-record 30-game hit streak in 1998.
So what about 1966?
Bob Nieman still held the Orioles record when the 1966 season rolled around. He had hit safely in 20 consecutive games ten years earlier. Three O’s batters had a go at Nieman’s record in 1966: Luis Aparicio, Brooks Robinson, and Russ Snyder.
Aparicio had a 17-game hit streak from Aug. 17 to Sept. 4, which topped his 15-game hit streak from June 2 through June 15. Robinson tied Aparicio for the team’s longest hit streak of the 1966 season with a 17-game run of his own from June 22 through July 6. Finally, Snyder put together a 14-game hit streak from June 19 to July 9.
Aparicio finished the ’66 season with a .276 average while Robinson batted .269. Snyder topped them both with a .306 mark, though he played in roughly 40 fewer games than either Aparicio or Snyder.
Frank Robinson of course led the O’s with an A.L.-best .316 average in 1966 that helped him win baseball’s Triple Crown. He had two nine-game hit streaks during the season.
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