St. Louis Cardinals rookie outfielder Jordan Walker tied a long-standing MLB record in Wednesday’s win over the Colorado Rockies.
Walker tied Eddie Murphy’s 111-year-old record for longest hitting streak to start a career by a player age 20 or younger by hooking a single in the ninth inning to give him one hit in 12 consecutive games to start the season.
The 20-year-old put it up until his final at-bat to tie the record after going hitless in his first three at-bats.
•
Walker, the No. 4 ranked prospect in all of MLB entering this season, has yet to display the prodigious power that Cardinals fans are salivating for. But by always being on base day in and day out, he’s showing that he belongs at the big league level.
Up next for Jordan Walker is a chance to break Murphy’s record when the St. Louis Cardinals host the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday night.
If Walker is able to break Murphy’s mark on Thursday, then the record for a rookie hitting streak to start his career is in the offing. That 17-game mark is owned by two players: Chuck Aleno of the 1941 Cincinnati Reds and David Dahl of the 2016 Rockies.
No, it’s not that Eddie Murphy. The Eddie Murphy in question set the record 49 years before the comedian was born as a member of the 1912 Philadelphia A’s, the organization that eventually became the Oakland A’s we know today.
Murphy was a catcher with Philadelphia who hit .317 in 33 games in 1912 en route to an 11-year MLB career.
A towering prospect with hitting power, Jordan Walker comes with the promise of adding a lot more home runs to the already juicy heart of the St. Louis Cardinals lineup. He hit 33 home runs in 201 minor league games during the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
Cardinals fans expect big things — and big hits — from the 2020 first-round draft pick. But for now, the record-breaking hitting streak is enough.
Of course, Jordan Walker plays for the St. Louis Cardinals, a team with a chronically dissatisfied fan base for whom some will find that simply tying a record of 111 isn’t enough. Why only get one hit each game when he could easily get two or three each game?
Jordan Walker is a good fit for the Cardinals
Walker is settling in nicely through the first two weeks of his major league career. In 12 games with the Cardinals, he’s hitting .319 with 14 hits and eight RBIs.