By Jason Beck
SportsLine Staff Writer

Touching base

Derek Jeter is heading into record territory with his streak of reaching base safely in 51 consecutive games entering Friday. Who else has reached that territory is the question.

Mark McGwire reached base in 62 straight games for Oakland in 1995-96. (Allsport)

Jeter's streak is the longest since Mark McGwire reached base in 62 consecutive games for Oakland between the 1995 and '96 seasons according to the Elias Sports Bureau, which is researching the longest such streak in history.

One mark is for sure: like so many before him, Jeter is chasing the great Joe DiMaggio.

DiMaggio, of course, is famous for the 56-game hitting streak he posted in 1941. That streak ended on July 17 at Cleveland thanks to defensive plays from Ken Keltner and Lou Boudreau. However, DiMaggio still managed to reach base in that game thanks to a walk from Al Smith in Joltin' Joe's second at-bat.

The day after DiMaggio's record hitting streak ended, he started a 16-game streak. Add in another game with a walk, and DiMaggio reached base in 74 consecutive games -- nearly half of the 154-game schedule.

Keep in mind that reaching base safely does not include reaching base by error or by a force play at another base.

Save yourself

With legendary Chicago sportswriter Jerome Holtzman joining Major League Baseball as a historian, it's time to honor the statistic he created as a beat writer in 1960 -- the save.

After the first season in history to boast two 50-save closers, baseball's foremost firemen are lucky to even have jobs. Rod Beck has gone from saving 51 games for the Cubs last year to saving a spot in the training room while Rick Aguilera takes his job. Trevor Hoffman, who set the National League record for consecutive save opportunities converted last year, blew his third save in two months this season by giving up four runs in 1/3 inning Wednesday.

Alas, a sharp downfall is the general fate of closers the year after reaching 50 saves. While Bobby Thigpen's save total dropped by nearly half the year after he saved a record 57 wins in 1990, his earned-run average nearly doubled. His strikeout numbers, meanwhile, plummeted. Dennis Eckersley's stats declined along with the price-cutting A's of 1993, but his 4.16 ERA was due to more than bad support. Randy Myers suffered from the shortened season of 1994 after reaching 53 saves a year earlier, but he still blew five saves, just one less than he did in 1993. He also suffered more losses.

While most closers enjoy short periods on top of their game -- Eckersley being a major exception -- the dropoff of the 50-save firemen seems more dramatic. Fatigue plays a major part; Beck's back problems this spring can be linked to the incredible amount of work he saw down the stretch last fall. Only Hoffman reached 50 saves without having to overpower hitters for at least 75 innings.

Even more numbers

3 -- Games this year in which Luis Gonzalez has not reached base safely. The Diamondbacks outfielder has followed up his 30-game hitting streak earlier this year with a 12-game streak. He could become the first player to have two 20-game hitting streaks in a season since Steve Garvey in 1978.

8 -- Cubs home games this year through Tuesday in which the game time temperature was above 60 degrees.

4 -- Game-winning RBI for Sammy Sosa this season, including three in the last three weeks. Two of those have come on game-winning home runs, including Wednesday's shot to complete a comeback victory over San Diego. However, Sosa is well short of a pace to approach Keith Hernandez's major-league record of 24 game-winning RBI in 1985.

208 -- Record-setting RBI pace over a full season for Indians slugger Manny Ramirez, who would pass Hack Wilson's record of 190 if he keeps this up. Remember, however, that Juan Gonzalez fizzled last summer after driving in 100 runs by the All-Star break.

12 -- Number of letters in the last name of Doug Mientkiewicz, who will be honored by former Twin Paul Thormodsgard for tying the team record.

14 -- Years to the day, as of June 5, of the last three-RBI single hit in the majors. Former Brewer Ernest Riles hit it in 1985.