Nick Kurtz has equalled a record held by Mark McGwire. With a walk, Kurtz extended his on-base streak to 48 games, tying McGwire’s 1996 record for the longest on-base streak in a single season in franchise history.
Kurtz’s Impressive Run
Kurtz has reached base safely in every game he’s played since April 3. In that period, he is batting .308/.464/.523 with eight home runs.
His walk was his 52nd of the season in just 53 games played. This puts him on pace for 157 walks.
Kurtz’s .444 on-base percentage leads the Majors. Carlos Cortes said of Kurtz, “His power is so pure and so insane, but his plate discipline has always been really advanced.”
Climbing the Leaderboards
The No. 4 overall pick in the 2024 Draft, Kurtz was the AL Rookie of the Year Award winner in 2025. He has a .925 OPS this season, ranking 10th among qualifying hitters.
Kurtz is climbing Athletics leaderboards. He passed Rickey Henderson (46 games from 1980-81) and tied Jimmie Foxx (1932) for the second-longest on-base streak in A’s history when he singled in the third inning Sunday in San Diego to extend his streak to 47 games.
- 2026 Nick Kurtz: 48 games (active)
- 1996 Mark McGwire: 48
- 1932 Jimmie Foxx: 47
- 1917 Ping Bodie: 43
Comparing to Baseball Legends
Kurtz is also climbing the list of longest single-season on-base streaks for any player age 23 or younger since 1900.
Mark Kotsay said Kurtz’s ability to draw walks reminded him of Henderson. He said that “those guys … have a high walk rate, really are disciplined, seem to not chase.”
Williams holds the MLB record for the longest on-base streak, regardless of age, with an 84-game stretch from July 1, 1949-Sept. 27, 1949.
While Kurtz’s single-season streak now matches McGwire’s from 1996, McGwire reached in 62 straight games between 1995 and ’96. Kurtz has at least two more weeks to go before he can pass McGwire in terms of all-time.