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Catcher JT Realmuto Extends Hitting Streak, Sets Philadelphia Phillies Record

After legging out a double against the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday, JT Realmuto now owns the longest hitting streak by any catcher in Philadelphia Phillies franchise history.
Sam Connon|
May 22, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto (10) hits a two RBI single against the Texas Rangers during the sixth inning at Citizens Bank Park.
May 22, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto (10) hits a two RBI single against the Texas Rangers during the sixth inning at Citizens Bank Park. | Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

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Philadelphia Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies catcher JT Realmuto had a spotty performance at the plate Tuesday night, but he still managed to make history.

Realmuto went 1-for-5 with three strikeouts against the San Francisco Giants, failing to either score or drive in a run. Even after his double in the top of the sixth inning, he got thrown out at third on a fielder's choice.

With two outs and a man on third in the top of the 10th, Realmuto grounded out to short. San Francisco went on to win 1-0.

Still, Realmuto did what he needed to do in order to extend his hitting streak to 17 games. In doing so, Realmuto broke the Phillies' record for longest hitting streak by a catcher in franchise history.

And according to The Good Phight's schmenkman, Realmuto joined William Contreras as the only MLB catcher since 2020 to post a hitting streak of 17-plus games.

Realmuto is batting .351 with a .912 OPS during his hitting streak, which dates back to May 4. Before that, he was batting .239 with a .692 OPS.

The 33-year-old catcher is batting .284 with seven home runs, 20 RBI, a .780 OPS and a 1.5 WAR on the whole this season.

Realmuto is in the fourth season of the five-year, $115.5 million contract he signed with Philadelphia back in 2021 – the largest for a catcher in MLB history. The Phillies acquired Realmuto in a trade with the Miami Marlins ahead of the 2019 campaign.

For his career, Realmuto is a .273 hitter with a .785 OPS and a 34.8 WAR. The three-time All-Star, three-time Silver Slugger and two-time Gold Glove winner ranks second among active catchers with 1,188 hits, 598 RBI and 1,982 total bases, as well as fifth with 161 home runs.

Realmuto will have a chance to extend his historic hitting streak in Wednesday's series finale against the Giants. First pitch is scheduled for 3:45 p.m. ET.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a staff writer covering baseball for “Fastball on SI.’’ He previously covered UCLA Athletics for On SI’s All Bruins site, and is a UCLA graduate, with his work there as a sports columnist receiving awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for On SI’s New England Patriots site, Patriots Country, and he was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk. Sam lives in Boston.

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