We kid around with Jason Bergmann a lot about his lack of prowess with the bat. And Bergmann is good-natured about it. He knows he's a pitcher, and he knows he should be better at the plate, but he insists he's really trying.

All of which is true, but nothing can hide the fact that Bergmann is a truly horrible hitter. He entered tonight's game 0-for-33 for the season, then grounded out in his first at-bat and struck out in his next (on three straight pitches) to make himself 0-for-35.

Ah, but Bergmann had a chance to redeem himself just now in the top of the sixth. Austin Kearns and Kory Casto hit back-to-back singles to lead things off, bringing Bergmann to the plate with men on first and second, no outs and a chance to do something productive by dropping a sacrifice bunt.

Of course, even that fundamental task has proven too difficult for Bergmann to handle this season. He has, believe it or not, ZERO sac bunts. And he still has ZERO after fouling off the first pitch he saw from Chad Durbin and then bunting the next one right back to the mound for an easy force out at third.

I don't know if there's any way to look this up easily, but I'm starting to wonder who has the most at-bats in a season without a hit, and I'm wondering whether Bergmann has a chance to set a record here.

UPDATE:

Thanks to some help from Chico Harlan of the Washingon Post and his STATS Pass account, we have our answer. At 0-for-35, Bergmann now is tied for the 11th most at-bats in a season without a hit. He's got a long way to go for the all-time record, though. Bob Buhl, while pitching for both the Braves and Cubs in 1962, went an astounding 0-for-70. Buhl did, however, successfully drop seven sacrifice bunts and draw six walks that season. Which is seven and six more than Bergmann has in 2008, respectively.

• 
• Comment