TAMPA, Fla. — Rays rookie Wander Franco is claiming his spot in baseball history after surpassing an MLB legend's on-base streak during Tuesday night's game.
The 20-year-old went 0 for 4 with a walk while taking on the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, extending his on-base streak to 37 games and passing Mickey Mantle for the longest streak by an AL player under 21 years old.
“I'm guessing Wander knows or has heard of Mickey Mantle. We all certainly have,” MLB.com reports Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “And when you're in the same sentence with him, you're doing some really special things.”
Franco is hitting .290 and has scored 48 runs and driven in 36 since making his big league debut earlier this year.
Now, the Rays' shortstop is eyeing down the league's record holder, Frank Robinson, who set the on-base record with 43 games for the Reds in 1956.
Franco has been known to be baseball's top overall prospect since being called up from the minors on June 22.
His original goal was to reach the Bigs at 19 years old, becoming the first teenager to do so. A global pandemic had other plans when the 2020 MLB season was postponed and the minor league seasons were canceled.
“I want to give 100 percent of what I’ve got,” Franco said at the time via the team’s Spanish interpreter Manny Navarro. “Just continue with the work that I’ve been doing and hope it turns me into a superstar.”
And he's done just that.