$5.6 million Beat the Streak back for 14th season
New year offers fans chances at new prizes, opportunity to take home jackpot
Beat the Streak is back for its 14th year, with new prizes and new rules to make winning the $5.6 million jackpot easier than ever.
That's right. Five point six million dollars. That's more than the average annual salary in Major League Baseball. That's season tickets for life. That's, well, almost anything you've ever wanted.
A quick refresher: BTS participants try to establish a virtual "hitting streak" by picking one or two big leaguers per day, with their streaks continuing as long as their selections collect at least one hit that day. Fans can play online or via their smartphones.
In Beat the Streak's 13 years of existence, no one has topped Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio's record hitting streak of 56, set in 1941. Several fans have reached the upper 40s, but the $5.6 million grand prize is still waiting to be claimed. And while some folks think reaching 57 is impossible, the odds are six trillion times better than picking a perfect NCAA bracket.
Since every year we get more impatient with having our first winner, we keep making the rules slightly easier. This season, if one of your picks goes 0-fer on a given date, and your streak is in the 10-15 range (last year the range was 5-9), MLB.com and Dunkin' Donuts will give you a free do-over.
Even if you can't secure the millions sitting at the end of the BTS rainbow, you can still win a slew of new prizes for streaks as short as five games. This is a new addition for 2014, so don't be surprised if you find yourself with free merchandise, free MLB.TV or sitting pretty with seats at the 2014 World Series. Additionally, $10,000 will go to the individual who finishes the season with the longest streak, assuming that mark isn't 57 or higher.
That award in 2013 went to William Bryan, who fell just 10 picks shy of an unlimited supply of fame and fortune. A police officer, husband and father of two, Bryan captivated the BTS community during the summer, making one successful selection after another behind the bats of his beloved Atlanta Braves.
But, of course, you want to do better than Bryan. So much better. So get ready, get set and start picking now.
It only takes 15 seconds a day.