Jimmy Rollins' hitting baseball streak ends at 38

April 6, 2006 The 38 game hitting streak of Jimmy Rollins has ended. The streak begain on August 23, 2005. After two games into the 2006 regular season, he went 0-4 in a 4-2 loss against St.Louis, promptly ending his pursuit of the impressive record 56 game feat accomplished by Joe Dimaggio in 1941. Another record that Rollins' was chasing has been largely overlooked. The National League hit streak record shared by Pete Rose(1978) and Willie Keeler(1897) was 44 games, just 6 more than Rollins' accomplished.

The streak was not without controversy. Many contested that the streak should not count due to the fact that it spanned two seasons. The major league marks for longest hitting streak in one season and longest hitting streak spanning two seasons are separate records. For example, Willie Keeler's hitting streak was accomplished in one season in 1897. He also had a hit in the last game in 1896, making his streak 45 over two seasons. Others believed that the streak was more difficult since Rollins had to wait six months before trying to start again. "I think it will be almost a little bit more special if he ends up going as far because of the layoff," Cardinals shortstop David Eckstein said before the streak ended.