THIS DAY IN BEISBOL September 26: Benito Santiago’s 28-game hit streak breaks rookie record

Highly regarded for his defense behind the plate throughout his 20-year career, Benito Santiago also proved to be a pretty good-hitting catcher too.

On this day in beisbol, September 30, 1987, the Padres backstop, just 22 years old and playing in his first full season, extended his hitting streak to 28 games, breaking the MLB record for rookies.

The previous record holder was the Pirates’ Jimmy Williams, who had a 27-game hot streak way back in 1899.

Santiago would go on to win NL Rookie of the Year and Silver Slugger awards in 1987 for his 18-homer, 79-RBI and .300 batting average.

After spending his first seven years in San Diego, the Ponce, Puerto Rico native became a journeyman catcher who played with nine different teams. He retired in 2005 with 217 homers and more than 900 RBI.

Also on this day: Speedy infielder-outfielder Juan Samuel played in his final game of a solid 16-year career in 1998. Coming in as a pinch runner in the 13th inning for the Toronto Blue Jays — his seventh team — the 37-year-old stole third then scored the winning run in a walk-off victory over the Tigers.

And in a 2016 road game in Pittsburgh, Cubs shortstop Javier Baez led a 12-2 rout of the Pirates with a grand slam and 6 RBI. It was Chicago’s 100th win of the season — a feat the hard-luck franchise hadn’t accomplished since 1935.

The Cubs would go on to win the World Series in 2016 — its first championship in 108 years — in a thrilling seven-game matchup with the Cleveland Indians.

ISU_79 from San Diego, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons