Braves right fielder Holmes hit safely in a 20th-century NL record 37 straight games, from June 6 through July 8 of his 1945 TSN MVP season. That year, he hit .352 with 117 RBI, 125 runs, and 15 stolen bases, and had league highs of 47 doubles, 224 hits, a .577 slugging average, and 28 HR ; he is the only player ever to lead a league in home runs and fewest strikeouts (9) in the same season. But these totals were all career highs, and though he batted over .300 in his next three seasons, he never again managed more than nine homers or 79 RBI. Appointed the Braves’ manager in mid-1951, Holmes was fired early in 1952, finishing up as a Dodger pinch hitter. When Pete Rose broke his hitting-streak record in 1978, a tearful Holmes thanked him “for making people remember me.”
