Ketel Marte makes DBacks playoff history in Game 1 of WS, on verge of MLB playoff history

Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte has cemented himself as an MLB postseason legend.

In the top of the fifth inning of World Series Game 1 on Friday, Marte laced an RBI double to right-center field to drive in Geraldo Perdomo. It was Marte's 20th hit of the 2023 playoffs, setting the Diamondbacks' franchise record for hits in a single postseason

That 20th hit broke former DBacks all-star Steve Finley's record of 19 he set in 2001, the only other year Arizona made it to a World Series. Finley posted a ridiculous .365/.441/.462 slash line in the 2001 postseason, playing an incredibly important role in the Diamondbacks winning the World Series that year.

Marte, also a former DBacks all-star, is putting together a legendary postseason run himself. Along with the 20 hits, the 2023 National League Championship Series MVP has driven in nine runs in Arizona's 13 postseason games. He's slashing .345/.367/.586, and this hot streak has him on the precipice of achieving MLB postseason history.

Marte's playoff excellence dates back to his other postseason appearance, when he and the DBacks played in the 2017 National League Wild Card and Division Series. In every postseason game he's ever played in, he has swatted at least one hit.

Therefore, he is not just on a 13-game hitting streak this postseason, but a 17-game hitting streak in his postseason career. No other player in MLB history has ever extended a postseason hitting streak past 17 games. Marte has the opportunity to etch his name in MLB postseason lore with a hit during Game 2 of the World Series Saturday night.

It is an honor he shares with first-ballot Hall of Famer Derek Jeter (1998-99), 12-time All-Star Manny Ramirez (2003-04) and seven-time World Series champion Hank Bauer (1956-58), hitting in 17 straight playoff games.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Ketel Marte makes DBacks history in World Series, close to MLB history