MARLINS’ CANTU SETS MLB BATTING RECORD

Florida Marlins third baseman Jorge Cantu is off to a good start in 2010, setting a Major League Baseball batting record along the way.

Cantu, who had a .288 batting average with three homers and a National League-leading 16 RBIs through Sunday, began the season by collecting a hit and an RBI in the first ten games of the season, shattering Hall of Famer George Kelly’s record of collecting a hit and RBI in the first eight games of the 1921 season. Cantu’s streak ended last Friday when he was held without an RBI in a game against Philadelphia.

Cantu’s hits/RBIs streak actually ended at 14 games because he’d turned the trick in the final four games of 2009. His streak of 14 games with an RBI is tied with Tris Speaker (1928) for third on the all-time list, behind Ray Grimes at 17 (1922) and Mike Piazza’s 15 (2000).

Cantu went to high school in Reynosa and spent time in the batting cage with the Broncos in February before joining the Marlins for spring training.