Luis Castillo's hitting streak is great for baseball. The longer it lasts, the more attention it brings to the game and to the Florida Marlins. Castillo becomes the center of attention every night.

It's funny how a hitting streak works. When a hitter reaches 20 straight games, he barely gets mentioned. At 25, people start to pay attention. Thirty is the magic number. Once the hitter reaches or passes 30, as Castillo has, the media starts following it more closely. Fans start checking out the box scores every day, and ESPN starts cutting in to games in progress.

Streaks tough to continue

The longest hitting streak of my career lasted 25 games and came during my second season (Aug. 21-Sept. 18, 1983). Hitting streaks were never one of my big things. It's tough because everyday you have to get a hit. You have days when you hit the ball hard but right at people. You can have good at-bats when you don't get a hit. Hitting streaks also get you out of what you normally do. Your mechanics go right out the window. That is why I never had a longer one than 25 games. The longer it goes, the more you have to hit a pitcher's pitch instead of the ones you like. You become more anxious at the plate, and it works in the pitcher's favor. Pitchers are on the mound saying, "He's not going to get one off me." I don't remember much about the end of my 25-game streak except that I hit the ball on the screws a few times. It was the longest hitting streak in Padres history until Benito Santiago's 34-game streak in 1987. I didn't pay much attention to my streak at the time. Because I had been injured for half the season, I was more interested in proving to people I could play in the big leagues. I'm not surprised I didn't have a longer streak than 25. As soon as I had a streak going, I knew pitchers would try to make me hit their pitch. I also knew I just wouldn't get a hit some nights. So I never really worried about it. -- Tony Gwynn

Castillo is tough to pitch to and has a big advantage as a switch-hitter. As a left-handed hitter, his style is similar to Ichiro. He is not looking to hit the ball solidly. In fact, he won't drive it unless the pitch is a breaking ball on the inner half of the plate.

Castillo prefers to slash or chop at the ball and almost runs out of the box before he hits it. It's hard to throw him out at first base because he can fly. Ichiro is a better tactician at the plate and a faster runner, but Castillo puts the bat on the ball, gets on base and makes things happen.

While he is more dangerous as a left-handed hitter because he is closer to first base, Castillo has more pop and better mechanics from the right side of the plate. He will stand in the box, take his licks and hit the ball all over the place as a right-handed hitter.

Other than being a switch-hitter, Castillo's lack of power helps him as well. Because he is not a power threat (only eight home runs in his career), pitchers will challenge him more without fear of giving up a home run. Pitchers will come right at him, especially when he is hitting left-handed.

What makes a hitting streak so difficult to maintain is that hitters become less patient the longer it lasts. They want to keep the streak going. Pitchers know that and will give a hitter fewer good pitches to hit. They don't want to give up the hit that will extend Castillo's streak to 32 games or more.

If a hitting streak weren't on the line, Castillo would normally take a walk and be off and running on the bases. But now he has to get a hit in every game. The hitting streak will force him to be more aggressive, especially if he goes hitless his first two times up. Sooner or later, Castillo may have to hit a pitcher's pitch instead of waiting for a good pitch to hit.

Pitchers need to make Castillo hit their pitch. In a tight game, though, they should go right after him. They don't want to mess around with him and allow him to reach base. Otherwise, Castillo is a good bad-ball hitter who can take a pitch off his shoetops and inside out it to the opposite field. He can chop the high ball into the ground and run out an infield single. He has the ability to hit a waste pitch hard somewhere.

With the Marlins playing interleague games against Cleveland and Detroit this week, Castillo will be facing many pitchers for the first time. In a situation where the pitchers have never seen him and he has never seen them, Castillo has the edge because they will be less afraid of him hitting one out of the park.

Castillo will lead off for the Marlins against the Indians' Chuck Finley on Tuesday. Hitting right-handed against the lefty Finley, Castillo will take his hacks. Finley throws a good split-fingered fastball. One way Castillo could extend his streak is if he could take Finley's splitter, pop it into the ground and beat out the throw to first.

You may see the Indians outfielders creep in toward the infield and the infielders in on the corners, waiting for the bunt. Castillo will more than likely hit the ball on the ground somewhere. If it's not right at someone, it will be a tough play at first base.

As a native of the Dominican Republic, Castillo does not speak great English, which may help him in dealing with the media because he could use it as an excuse. For a player who can speak the language well, the media may ask the same questions everyday: "How do you hit this pitcher?"; "What do you expect to do?"; or "What kind of pitch are you looking for?"

As the pressure builds, Castillo may not have to answer those questions and can instead concentrate on playing. I hope he can keep the streak going.

Tony Gwynn, who will take over as the head baseball coach at San Diego State next year, is working as an analyst for ESPN.