Joe DiMaggio's Hitting Streak
The New York Yankee's Streak 56-Game Streak Will Never Be Broken
It seems like every year that another sacred baseball record falls. But one mark that will never be surpassed is Joltin' Joe DiMaggio's 56 Game Hitting Streak
Joe DiMaggio's 56 Game Hitting Streak is one baseball record that will never be broken. It was his greatest accomplishment in a long and storied Hall of Fame Career. It is also a really great story.
By the time the 1941 season began, fans thought they had seen it all from Joe DiMaggio. As a 19-year old kid with the San Francisco Seals in 1933, DiMaggio put together a minor league record 61 game hitting streak. In 1936, DiMaggio burst onto the scene with the New York Yankees by hitting .323 with 29 Home Runs and 125 RBI. The next year he hit .346 with 167 RBI. In 1939, he upped the ante by hitting .381 with 30 homers and 125 RBI, and won his first American League MVP. DiMaggio also won four World Series rings in his first four seasons with the New York Yankees.
The Hitting Streak Begins
None of that prepared baseball fans for what the Yankee Clipper would accomplish in 1941. It all began on May 15th against the Chicago White Sox. On that warm spring day, DiMaggio went one-for-four. The next day he got two more hits in four at-bats. Then he really turned it on. DiMaggio picked up at least one hit in every game that he appeared in for a long, long time. On June 3rd against Detroit, he surpassed twenty straight games. On June 17th, he blew by the 30 game mark. Then, against Philadelphia on the fifth of July, DiMaggio broke the ancient 45 game hit streak record set by Wee Willie Keeler way back in 1894. Joltin' Joe now had the record all to himself.
On the day that he passed fifty games, Joe went 4 for 5 with a Home Run. By then the streak had become the biggest story in the country. Radio broadcasts led off with updates about DiMaggio. Every newspaper ran a daily column about the streak on its front page. The famous Les Brown Orchestra even wrote a popular song that was inspired by the streak, entitled "Joltin' Joe DiMaggio." That's how big it was. Many believed it would go on forever.
The Streak Finally Comes to a Close
But, alas, it was not meant to be. On July 17, 1941 the Cleveland Indians finally stopped what had grown into a 56 Game Hitting Streak. Pitchers Al Smith and Jim Bagby held the Clipper at bay with the help of two brilliant defensive stops by third basemen Ken Keltner. The streak was finally over.
But it had propelled both DiMaggio and the New York Yankees to new heights. Before it began, the Yankees were struggling. During the streak, they went 41-15, and vaulted into First Place. They stayed in front from then on, and went on to win yet another World Series that October. None of it would have happened if not for the amazing 56 Game Hit Streak by their best player.
Important Facts About the Streak
The players who came closest to matching DiMaggio were Cincinnat's Pete Rose (44 games in 1978) and the Brewers' Paul Molitor (39 games in 1987).
The following Hall of Famers never put together a hitting streak of greater than 30 games: Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Honus Wagner, Shoeless Joe Jackson, Willie Mays, Wade Boggs, and Tony Gwynn.
During the course of the 56 Game Hitting Streak, DiMaggio hit .409.
Unlike many contact hitters who also put together impressive hitting streaks, DiMaggio provided as much raw power as he did consistency at the plate. During the stretch, he hit 15 Home Runs and collected 55 RBI for the New York Yankees. By comparison, Rose had zero home runs and only 11 RBI during his 44-game streak.
Although Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941 (becoming the last man to hit .400), he lost out to DiMaggio in the American League MVP voting,
The streak included hits off Hall of Fame pitchers Lefty Grove, Bob Feller, Hal Newhouser and Ted Lyons.
The day after the streak ended, DiMaggio embarjed on another hitting streak that lasted 17 games.
The guy must have been pretty good.
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There it is: everything you need to know about Joe DIMaggio's famous 56 Game Hiting Streak. You can also read about other great baseball streaks by clicking here.
