Michael Harris II has yet another big night for the Atlanta Braves en route to a 10-1 win over the Cleveland Guardians. He went 2-for-3 with two extra-base hits, including a three-run home run.
With those two hits, he extended his multi-hit streak to eight games, tying a franchise record.
He’s in pretty exclusive company with this streak. He’s just the fifth player in franchise history to have a streak this long and the second to achieve this streak since the Braves moved to Atlanta in 1966.
The most recent player to do this was Chris Johnson in 2013. Before that, you have to go back to Hank Aaron’s streak with the Milwaukee Braves back in 1959. The other two instances happened during the Boston Braves era, one of which was achieved by Hall of Famer George Sisler, one of the most recent hitters to bat .400, during the twilight years of his career.
One more game, and Harris will stand alone, reaching a feat that even the greatest of Braves legends were unable to do. Even if this is where it ends, being in the company of two of the best hitters in the game’s history isn’t too bad either.
During this eight-game multi-hit streak, Harris is batting .500 with a .970 slugging percentage, four home runs, eight total extra-base hits and 13 RBIs. Over the last seven days, only one player has had a better OPS than him, Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich.
The discussion of his change in mechanics and stance has gone on and on, and there’s a reason for that. Had he just returned to his career averages, the discussion likely would have died off already. Money Mike is back to his usual self. That’s great for next season. Moving on.
However, he’s playing out of his mind, and the difference between before and after the changes lacks the proper adjective to describe how astonishing it has been.
Harris was statistically the worst qualifying hitter in baseball before the All-Star Break. He was last in on-base percentage (.234) and last in OPS (.550). While it technically could have gone worse statistically, he literally could not have gotten worse than any other hitter.
Since the All-Star Break, he has the fourth-best OPS (1.099), and his on-base percentage is up to .402 during this stretch.
While hitters have to make adjustments throughout their careers, do not consider changing this for the foreseeable future. Nothing here is broken. There is currently nothing to fix, and the Braves have been in the win column more recently, too.
Again, better late than never, and it’s looking like it’s been very worth the wait.
