WEST SACRAMENTO — The sold-out crowd at Sutter Health Park knew what was going on.
Nick Kurtz has been rubbing shoulders with legends of the game throughout his ongoing Athletics-record walk streak. Without a walk through three at-bats as he faced Guardians reliever Hunter Gaddis in the bottom of the seventh inning of Friday night’s 8-5 loss, the energy in the stands kicked up a notch once the reigning American League Rookie of the Year reached a 3-1 count.
After taking a called strike two, Kurtz laid off a fastball far inside for ball four and received a standing ovation as he tossed his bat, removed his batting gloves and jogged down to first base. It was his 20th consecutive game with a walk, surpassing Ted Williams and tying him with prime-era Barry Bonds for the second-longest streak since walks first started being tracked for individual hitters (1910 in NL, 1913 in AL).
Most consecutive games with a walk
1947 Roy Cullenbine: 22
2002-03 Barry Bonds: 20
2026 Nick Kurtz: 20 (active)
1941 Ted Williams: 19
“It’s crazy,” Kurtz said of his ongoing walk streak. “I don’t think anyone should be compared to Barry Bonds. But to be in the same discussion, even if it is about walks, is pretty cool.”
Whether he thinks he’s worthy or not, Kurtz will now forever have to be mentioned in the same sentence, as his 20-game walk streak is now tied with Bonds, who waked in 20 straight from 2002-03 with the Giants.
The all-time streak is well within reach. Kurtz is now just two away from tying Roy Cullenbine, who holds the record of 22 consecutive games with a walk, which he set in 1947 with the Tigers.
“You don’t really want to go up there looking for a walk,” Kurtz said. “It’s kind of something that happens with being aggressive to the right pitches and laying off the other ones. I mean, it’s cool to see. It’s not like a stat that was like, ‘Oh, this would be so cool to break.’ But it’s still pretty sweet.”
Kurtz’s elite eye was on display throughout the night. The 23-year-old first baseman reached a full count and saw at least six pitches in four of his five plate appearances.
Kurtz finished April with 29 walks. The only other players in A’s history with that many walks in a calendar month at age 23 or younger are Rickey Henderson (29, Sept. 1980, and 31, April 1982) and Reggie Jackson (33, Aug. 1969).
The A’s phenom leads the Majors with 34 walks on the season. Friday’s walk also pushed his on-base streak to 26 games, which matches his career high (July 10-Aug. 11, 2025) and remains the second-longest active streak in MLB behind the D-backs’ Ildemaro Vargas (27 games).
“It’s very impressive,” said A’s designated hitter Brent Rooker, who crushed a two-run homer on Friday to snap a career-long 0-for-20 hitless streak. “Every at-bat is competitive. Every at-bat, he’s working deep into counts against really good arms who aren’t out there trying to walk him. Obviously, pitchers tend to be a little more careful with him because of the damage he can do, but nobody is out there trying to throw four balls.
“His ability to lay off pitches that are barely out of the zone and foul off pitches when he gets to two strikes is super impressive and a big part of the success we’ve had so far.”