The old baseball wisdom goes that hitting is the hardest thing to do in sports, because as even the greatest hitters fail 70% of the time. But a hitter can also get so hot that he steps to the plate and succeeds again, and again, and again, and again.

This week, that has been Jose Miranda, who knocked hits in 12 consecutive at-bats for the Twins over his past four games, which is the longest streak in MLB's Expansion Era since 1961.

Miranda is tied with the Tigers' Walt Dropo (1952), the Red Sox's Pinky Higgins (1938) and the Cubs' Johnny Kling (1902), who all got hits in 12 straight at-bats, for the overall lead.

Miranda became the 14th player in the Expansion Era to get a hit in 10 at-bats in a row or more, according to data provided by the Elias Sports Bureau. Here are those longest streaks of consecutive at-bats with a hit.

12 -- Jose Miranda, Twins: July 3-6, 2024
Miranda was already in the midst of a career year before his streak began, entering play on July 3 with career-high values in batting average (.296) and OPS (.821), among other stats. But his run in early July took things to another level. He singled in his final at-bat of a loss to the Tigers on July 3, and then went 5-for-5 and 4-for-4 in his next two games (one against Detroit, one against Houston). In his first plate appearance against the Astros on July 6, he was hit by a pitch, but his at-bats hit streak was extended when he delivered an RBI single in the second inning and recorded an opposite-field single in the fourth. His streak ended in the sixth inning, when he flied out to center.

Per Elias, no player in the Expansion Era has reached 11 hits in 11 plate appearances. More >

11 -- Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox: Aug. 25-27, 2016
The fan favorite second baseman fell just short of Dropo and Co. in an 11 at-bat hit streak that started at The Trop and ended with a pair of four-hit performances in front of the home fans at Fenway.

Xander Bogaerts called it "one of the coolest things you're going to experience." Mookie Betts said, "It was fun." David Price said, "That's special." Pedroia said that "I was going to the bathroom, and I heard them say it on TV."

11 -- Bernie Williams, Yankees: Aug. 14-17, 2002
The only other 11 at-bat hit streak of the expansion era belongs to the Yankees dynasty outfielder, who did it during a road trip to Kansas City and Seattle.

Williams' streak started with a game-winning single in the 14th inning of a win over the Royals, continued with a 9-for-9 run over the next two games, and wrapped up with one more first-inning single the game after that. Williams would go on to win a Silver Slugger Award that season.

10 -- Corey Dickerson, Cardinals: Aug. 23-25, 2022
Before starting his streak, Dickerson had struggled for much of the 2022 season. But the veteran found his stroke in Game 2 of a doubleheader against the Cubs on Aug. 23, finishing the day with four straight hits after flying out to center field in the second inning. He went 4-for-4 the following day and had two straight hits the day after that before his streak came to an end on a fielder's choice.

10 -- Jose Altuve, Astros: May 25-27, 2018
No surprise that Altuve ends up on this list. The Astros' star second baseman has led the league in hits four times and won three batting titles. Altuve's club-record 10-hit streak came in a span of 10 straight trips to the plate, not just at-bats. There were no walks sprinkled in between.

"You don't think about hits, you're not counting hits -- you're trying to win games," Altuve said afterward. "I guess after two games, my teammates say, 'Oh, you got 10 hits.' You're like, 'OK, that's fun.' But in the middle of the game it's hard to think about, 'Oh I got 1, 2, 3, 4 ... '"

10 -- Andre Ethier, Dodgers: Aug. 22-25, 2012
The longtime Dodgers outfielder was in the prime of his run with Los Angeles when he strung together hits in 10 straight at-bats at Chavez Ravine against the rival Giants and the Marlins in August 2012. Ethier crushed a home run apiece in the latter two games of the streak, which were both 4-for-4 days.

10 -- Kevin Youkilis, Red Sox: July 31-Aug. 2, 2009
Another Red Sox player makes the list. Youk was at his peak in 2009, when he was an All-Star and finished sixth in the AL MVP voting after a third-place finish the year before. His streak began with three hits against the Orioles on the last day of July, capped by a go-ahead homer in the seventh inning that ended up the game-winner. It continued with seven hits over the next two days, including another homer, as Boston swept the O's at Camden Yards.

10 -- Matt Diaz, Braves: Aug. 12-14, 2006
You don't have to be a star to catch fire, and Diaz did at Turner Field in August 2006. Entering as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning of a Saturday night game against the Brewers, Diaz knocked Ben Sheets out of the game with an RBI single that started a three-run Braves inning. He didn't stop getting hits until two days later, after a pair of four-hit efforts against the Nationals that included one home run.

10 -- Frank Catalanotto, Rangers: April 21-May 18, 2000
Catalanotto's 10 at-bats actually spanned nearly a month. That's because after starting 3-for-3 against the Twins on April 21, the second baseman strained his groin and had to go on the DL. He returned on May 16 and walked in his only plate appearance, then picked the hit streak back up the next day with a 5-for-5 game in a win over the Devil Rays. Two more hits against the Orioles on May 18 gave Catalanotto the new Rangers record.

10 -- Joe Randa, Royals: June 8-12, 1999
Randa's 10 consecutive at-bats with a hit coincided with a huge offensive outburst by the Royals, who scored 46 total runs in the four games his streak spanned, including double-digit runs in the first three. The third baseman homered twice, drove in eight runs and scored six runs during his hit streak.

10 -- Frank Thomas, White Sox: May 16-20, 1997
The Big Hurt was a Hall of Fame hitter, and he was more than just a slugger. Thomas won a batting title in 1997, the year of his 10 at-bat hit streak, hitting .347 for the White Sox to lead the AL. His streak, which spanned a three-game series in Oakland before concluding against the Red Sox at Comiskey Park, actually only included one home run -- even though he crushed 35 that year.

10 -- Chris Stynes, Royals/Reds: Sept. 28, 1996-Aug. 10, 1997
Stynes' 10 at-bat hit streak spanned two teams, two different seasons and nearly a whole calendar year. A part-time utility player for the Royals in 1996, Stynes went 3-for-3 over what would be his final two games in Kansas City. He didn't play in the Majors in the first half of 1997 before he was traded to the Reds in July. He made his Cincinnati debut in August and went 7-for-7 with a homer in his first two games as a Red, running his consecutive hits streak to 10 at-bats, just with a lot of time in between.

10 -- Bip Roberts, Reds: Sept. 19-23, 1992
This was the one All-Star season of Roberts' 12-year Major League career -- he hit .323 with 44 stolen bases and even finished eighth in the NL MVP voting. His hit streak came at the tail end of the season, and included back-to-back games with multiple stolen bases for good measure.

10 -- Ken Singleton, Orioles: April 26-28, 1981
The veteran outfielder was an All-Star for the O's in 1981, the third and final All-Star nod of his 15-year career. On his way to the Midsummer Classic, Singleton knocked 10 hits in 10 at-bats at Memorial Stadium in late April. His streak started with a three-run homer off none other than Dennis Eckersley, and he capped it with a homer, too, for hit No. 10.