Jose Miranda did not match Kling and Dropo

By Andrew Sharp

When Twins’ third-baseman Jose Miranda reached 12 hits in 12 at-bats on July 6, he was widely credited with becoming the fourth player to do so. Indeed, he joined Pinky Higgins of the Red Sox, who in 1938 similarly had 12 hits in 12 at-bats, one of the four players mentioned in every news story.

Neither Miranda nor Higgins, however, got their 12 hits in consecutive plate appearances. Miranda was hit by a pitch after his first 10 straight hits. Because he walked twice, it took Higgins 14 plate appearances.

In fact, just two players -- 50 years apart -- have had base-hits in 12 consecutive times up: Johnny Kling of Chicago in the National League in 1902 and Walt Dropo of the Detroit Tigers in the American League in 1952.

A technicality, you say? Then consider that Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game streak would have ended sooner if he had walked but didn’t get a hit in any of those games.

Walt Dropo would otherwise be forgotten if not for his consecutive hits record.

Walt Dropo shares a record for consecutive hits.Photo byWikimedia

Until 2009, Dropo's consecutive hit record was thought to stand alone. That year, Trent McCotter of Retrosheet uncovered Kling's mark as part of the group's on-going effort to determine as accurately as possible the play-by-play accounts of every major- league game.

What Miranda achieved still is amazing. Just two players since the expansion era began in 1961 have had 11 hits in 11 official at-bats: Bernie Williams of the Yankees in 2002 and Dustin Pedroia of the Red Sox in 2016, although both of those players reached base with walks during their hit streaks. No player in the expansion era, including Miranda, has had 11 hits in 11 straight plate appearances.

Miranda’s streak, which included a team-record 13 consecutive times on base, began with an eighth-inning single on July 3. On July 4, he was 5-for-5 with three doubles and three RBIs against the Tigers. On July 5 against the Astros, he was 4-for-4 with a double, a homer and two RBIs. He was hit by a pitch in the first inning on July 6 before singling in his next two at-bats.

The streak ended in the sixth inning when Miranda flied out. The crowd at Target Field gave him an ovation. All four games in the streak were at home.

Miranda, a 26-year-old Puerto Rican, is in the midst of a breakout season, a year after having been demoted to the minors. At the time of his hit streak, he needed a handful of appearances to be second in the league in batting average. He’s well on his way to topping the 15 homers and 66 RBIs from his 2022 rookie season.

Weirdly, no account of Miranda’s achievement that I could find noted the distinction between what he and Higgins did and what Kling and Dropo did.

Dropo, a first baseman and 1950 rookie of the year with the Red Sox, had the last seven of his 12 straight hits during a double-header against the Senators on July 15, 1952. After going 5-for-5 at Yankee Stadium on July 14, Dropo went 4-for-4 in the first game in Washington on July 15. His first nine hits in a row were singles. Then he tripled, singled and doubled in the second game. The fifth-inning double was his 12th hit in 12 times up.

Kling, the top N.L. defensive catcher in the first decade of the 20th Century, played in Chicago before the team was known as the Cubs. His 12 consecutive hits came in three games, August 24-26, 1902.

After being retired in his first at-bat in the second game of an August 24 double-header in Chicago, he had four hits, including a double and a triple in a win over Brooklyn.

On August 25, he was 5-for-5 with a double in a loss to Boston. On August 26 in Pittsburgh, he had hits in his first three times up with two doubles before being retired in his last plate appearance.

When will a player get 13 hits a row, even interrupted by a walk or being hit by a pitch? Perhaps it will be another 72 years, if ever.

Andrew C. Sharp is a retired daily newspaper journalist and a SABR member who lives in New Jersey and blogs about D.C. baseball at washingtonbaseballhistory.com