Where possible, hitting streaks that extend between seasons are broken down to show when the hits occurred. For example, Keeler's (1, 44) indicates 1 hit in 1896, and 44 in 1897. This list omits
Denny Lyons of the 1887
American Association Philadelphia Athletics, who had a 52-game hitting streak. In
1887, the major leagues adopted a new rule which counted
walks as hits, a rule which was dropped after that season. Lyons hit in 52 consecutive games that season, but his streak included two games (#22 and #44) in which his only "hits" were walks. In , MLB ruled that walks in 1887 would not be counted as hits, so Lyons' streak was no longer recognized, though it still appears on some lists. In 2000, Major League Baseball reversed its 1968 decision, ruling that the statistics which were recognized in each year's official records should stand, even in cases where they were later proven incorrect. Paradoxically, the ruling affects only hit
totals for the year; the batting champion for the year is not recognized as the all-time leader despite having the highest single-season average under the ruling, and Lyons' hitting streak is not recognized. ==Consecutive game hitting streaks to start a career==