Former Baltimore Oriole Chris Davis has long held the longest hitless streak in baseball history, when he went 0-54 from Sept. 14, 2018 to April 13, 2019, but a former LA Dodger got perilously close to matching that record.
Joc Pederson had a massive comeback year for the Diamondbacks in 2024, when he hit .275 with a .908 OPS, 23 homers, and 64 RBI in his best season since 2019. And it earned him a two-year, $37 million contract with a mutual option for a third year with the Rangers this offseason. He got off to a slow but not particularly worrisome start from Opening Day through April 2, but then he started on a long slide into the wrong side of history.
From his third at-bat on April 2 through three at-bats on April 22, Pederson went 0-41 at the plate with just two walks and 13 strikeouts, bringing his average down to .052 with a .210 OPS.
The Rangers brought him in against the Athletics in Sacramento on April 23, down 5-2 in the top of the ninth with nothing to lose. A's closer Mason Miller threw a 101 MPH fastball right down the middle of the plate, and Pederson managed to get ahold of it, punching it above the head above JJ Bleday to end the hitless streak.
Former Dodger Joc Pederson finally broke his 0-41 hitless streak with Rangers on Wednesday night
Even though Pederson might not have reached or surpassed Davis' record, he still set a new franchise record for Rangers hitters after surpassing Justin Foscue's 0-39 streak set last season.
His double off of Miller wasn't exactly without an asterisk either; he stretched it and was almost caught at second, but he still would've been credited with a single even if A's manager Mark Kotsay's challenge had gone in the more unfavorable direction.
Just two days later, Pederson got another hit, this time an RBI single, against the Giants in support of Nathan Eovaldi's scoreless six-inning outing, and walked once to raise his average and OBP marginally.
The Rangers are sitting at the top of the NL West, so they're in a decent place even if Pederson continues to sputter, but it was great to see him, a fan favorite when he was in LA, break out of the slump and avoid matching or breaking Davis' mark. For his sake, hopefully the RBI on Friday will shake him out of it completely.
