Outfielder Oswaldo Arcia is quickly climbing up the leader board on a list he would rather not be a part of. Saying that Arcia is in a slump is an understatement as he battles through an 0 for his last 29 at bats streak. The last time Arcia had a knock that counted was back on June 5th when he had a double off Brewer reliever Rob Wooten at Target Field and that was almost three weeks ago. A couple of more “ofer” games and he could become the Twins (and franchise leader going back to 1914) in at bats without a hit for a position player. The current leader on the Twins hitless at bats leader board is former catcher Butch Wynegar who had a pretty bad September himself back in 1978 when he went 0 for 38.
UPDATE – Arcia hit a home run in his first at bat against the Angels Garrett Richards on June 25th and his hitless streak finally came to an end at 29 at bats.
Twins position players with hitless streaks lasting 25 at bats or more
| Rk | Name | Strk Start | End | Games | AB ? | R | H | SO | BB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Butch Wynegar | 1978-09-04 | 1978-09-23 | 12 | 38 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 6 |
| 2 | Charlie Manuel | 1969-07-20 | 1970-04-09 | 27 | 36 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 6 |
| 3 | Jerry Zimmerman | 1967-05-26 | 1967-06-11 | 12 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 |
| 4 | Tom Nieto | 1987-09-11 | 1988-04-13 | 11 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 4 |
| 5 | Bobby Mitchell | 1982-04-27 | 1982-05-10 | 12 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| 6 | Gene Larkin | 1988-09-17 | 1988-09-28 | 10 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| 7 | Randy Bush | 1984-08-17 | 1984-09-07 | 14 | 29 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 6 |
| 8 | Oswaldo Arcia | 2014-06-13 | 2014-06-22 | 8 | 29 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 2 |
| 9 | Greg Gagne | 1991-06-21 | 1991-07-02 | 9 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
| 10 | Mike Ryan | 2005-07-17 | 2005-08-13 | 10 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 |
| 11 | Steve Lombardozzi | 1988-08-27 | 1988-09-24 | 10 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 12 | Greg Gagne | 1987-09-01 | 1987-09-11 | 9 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 |
| 13 | John Roseboro | 1968-04-18 | 1968-04-28 | 9 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 14 | Marty Cordova | 1998-09-01 | 1998-09-12 | 8 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 |
| 15 | Rich Becker | 1996-04-07 | 1996-04-29 | 11 | 26 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 6 |
| 16 | Jason Kubel | 2014-05-20 | 2014-06-06 | 9 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 5 |
| 17 | Torii Hunter | 2000-05-20 | 2000-08-01 | 9 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
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Twins Hall of Fame shortstop Greg Gagne made the list twice, ouch. If you included pitchers on the list you would find the hitting challenged Twins starter Dean Chance sitting at number one on the list with a hitless 0 for 52 streak that lasted 23 games from April 13 to July 23, 1967.
Come on Oswaldo, get a hit because this is not a record I want to see get broken!
In the last 20 years the longest hitless position player streak belongs to infielder Eugenio Velez of the Giants and Dodgers at 0 for 46 in 44 games. Velez was a San Francisco Giant when his hitless streak started on July 20, 2010 and he did not get a hit the rest off the season which was 10 games and 9 at bats. Velez became a free agent and signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers after the 2010 season. From July 4, 2011 through the end of the 2011 season Velez appeared in 34 games for the Dodgers getting 37 AB’s and you guessed it, he never got a single hit and he has not appeared in a major league game since. What a way to end your career 0 for your last 46 AB’s.