Nick Kurtz walked into some pretty exclusive company Friday night, earning his 20th consecutive game with at least one walk during the Athletics’ 8-5 loss to Cleveland at Sutter Health Park.
That streak ties him with Barry Bonds for the second-longest in MLB history.
The milestone came in the seventh inning against reliever Hunter Gaddis, when Kurtz worked a six-pitch at-bat that ended with a 94-mph four-seam fastball called outside. The walk set a new franchise record and put him just two games behind Roy Cullenbine’s all-time mark of 22 straight games, set with Detroit back in 1947.
What makes this streak even more interesting is the context. Kurtz isn’t having the same type of power season that made him the 2025 AL Rookie of the Year after clubbing 36 homers in 117 games. He’s batting just .245 with five home runs through Friday’s game.
But here’s the thing – his plate discipline has taken a major step forward.
Kurtz’s on-base percentage sits at .424, which is 41 points higher than last season. That’s the kind of development that shows real maturity from a 23-year-old who’s already one of Oakland’s most important young players.
The walk itself was a perfect example of that patience. Kurtz fouled off Gaddis’s opening slider, then watched three straight balls. He took a called strike on a high 87-mph slider before working the count full and earning the free pass.
Brent Rooker made the walk count, driving in a run with a single to pull the A’s within three runs. But reliever Erik Sabrowski shut the door from there, retiring the next three batters with two strikeouts.
Kurtz finished 0-for-4 with the walk, but that’s hardly the point right now. He’s two games away from owning a piece of baseball history that even Bonds couldn’t quite reach.
For a franchise that’s been rebuilding and relocating, watching their young slugger chase a 77-year-old record provides exactly the kind of storyline that makes this season compelling. Whether he can get there against Cleveland’s pitching over the weekend remains to be seen, but the fact that we’re even having this conversation speaks to how much Kurtz has grown as a hitter.
