Cleveland Guardians: A look back at Steven Kwan’s 18-game hit streak

Great moments and impressive streaks must end at some point, and finally, after 18 games, Steven Kwan’s league-leading streak has ended.

On July 14th, he started his dominating hit streak, and just this past week, after a foul ball to the foot, Kwan was unable to secure a hit before leaving the game, resulting in his hit streak ending.

He has been one of the most exciting young players to watch on the Cleveland Guardians this season, and his statistics show why. In his first major-league season, he has an impressive .298 batting average, which is 21st in MLB, 104 hits, 51 runs, 17 doubles, three triples, two home runs, and 28 RBIs.

At the plate, he has 37 walks and 36 strikeouts, just showing how impressive Kwan has been in his 2022 campaign.

What did Kwan’s 18-game hit streak entail?

For starters, his 18-game hit streak is tied for the longest hit streak in the American League this season, with Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Boston’s J.D. Martinez being the only two others to reach that point.

Also, Kwan’s streak was the longest such streak by a Cleveland rookie since former Indian Michael Brantley’s 19-game stretch in 2010.

Over Kwan’s hit streak, he faced six different teams and recorded a hit against 20 different pitchers. He recorded 28 hits in that span, which was the most in the league since his streak started. He had16 runs scored, five RBIs, six doubles, one of his two home runs on the season, five walks, and just nine strikeouts in 85 plate appearances.

Over the 18 games, he slashed .350/.388/.463, and the Guardians went 11-7.

His hit streak sadly came to a close in a 9-3 loss to the Houston Astros.

Manager Terry Francona said that in batting practice, Kwan swung and hit a foul ball off of his left foot resulting in uncomfortable pain. He proceeded to walk it off and by game time he was ready. However, the pain would return in the fourth inning when he would do the same exact thing and foul the ball off of his left foot once more, resulting in a foot contusion.

After his at-bat, he would be pulled to avoid injury, ultimately ending his 18-game hit streak before the game could come to a close.

Regardless of the streak’s untimely demise, Kwan has been a fabulous piece for this Guardians roster, as the future is looking exceptionally bright for the rookie.