Cardinals rookie Jordan Walker was heavily hyped heading into the 2023 season. To this point, he's lived up to the hype and then some. He entered Monday's action in Colorado carrying a .353 batting average with two doubles and two home runs en route to a .588 slugging percentage. Through his first nine games, he had eight RBI.
Walker had also collected at least one hit in each of his nine games. Monday in Coors Field, Walker extended his hitting streak to 10 games.
Players 20 years or younger to start their career with a 10+ game hitting streak:
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) April 11, 2023
Eddie Murphy (1912)
Jordan Walker (2023) pic.twitter.com/G4ff9Dg9vV
That's now a 10-game hitting streak to start Walker's career. It's a Cardinals franchise record, and they've had some pretty stellar rookies over the years. Also, since Walker is only 20 years old, he's in rarified air for his age. Here's a list of the longest hitting streaks at the beginning of a career for players age 20 or younger:
- Eddie Murphy, 1912 Philadelphia Athletics: 12 games
- Jordan Walker, 2023 St. Louis Cardinals: 10 games and counting
- Ted Williams, 1939 Boston Red Sox: 9 games
- Fred Hutchison, 1939 Detroit Tigers: 8 games
If we drop the age qualifier, the longest hitting streak to begin an MLB career is 17. That record is held by Chuck Aleno (1941 Reds) and David Dahl (2016 Rockies).
Walker has a good chance to keep this thing going here in the next few days. The Cardinals have two more games in Coors Field, and it's a hitter's paradise, notably with how spacious the outfield is, with plenty of room for singles to drop in front of the deep outfielders.
