Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hit streak is one record that will never be broken.
In one magical season in 1941, "The Yankee Clipper" hit safely in 56 straight games. It is his greatest accomplishment in a Hall of Fame Career.
DiMaggio was a three-time MVP winner and 13-time All-Star, and he led the Yankees to nine titles in 13 years.
Touted by sportswriters as Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, and Shoeless Joe Jackson rolled into one, he made his major league debut on May 3, 1936.
In his first season he hit .323 with 29 Home Runs and 125 RBI.
The next season he won the American League MVP, and the Yankees won their second straight World Series.
The Streak Begins
On May 15, in a game against the Chicago White Sox, DiMaggio went one-for-four. He would get two more hits the next day.
When he surpassed twenty straight games with a hit on June 3 in a game against Detroit, the media and fans took notice.
Newspaper ran a daily column about the streak. The Les Brown Orchestra even wrote a song about the streak, "Joltin' Joe DiMaggio."
On June 17 he reached thirty straight games, then on July 5 DiMaggio broke the 45-game hit streak record set by Wee Willie Keeler in 1894. He now was alone at the top of the record books.
Joe would pass fifty and many believed the streak would go on forever.
The streak Ends
On July 17, 1941, in a game against the Cleveland Indians, pitcher Al Smith held "Joltin" Joe hitless.
The streak was over at 56 games. DiMaggio hit .408 during his streak, with 15 home runs and 55 RBIs.
The day after the streak ended, DiMaggio started another hitting streak that lasted 17 games.
At the time of his retirement at age 36, he had the fifth-most career home runs (361) and sixth-highest slugging percentage (.579) in history.
Only Cincinnat's Pete Rose (44 games in 1978) and the Brewers' Paul Molitor (39 games in 1987) have come close to breaking the record.
The 56-Game Hit Streak is one record that will stand the test of time in baseball lore.
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4 months ago
I would say that will stand for a very long time but one record that I think will stand longer than this one will be the Ironman streak of Cal Ripken Jr.'s. Seriously, how many players do you know play more than 200 games without being given a day off? On the flip side how many players have you seen get 25-30 game hit streaks going?
This is a monumental feat don't get me wrong. However, if I had to choose between the Ironman streak and the hit streak as to which one would fall first, the Ironman streak would win hands down.
from 4 months ago
I think both of those streaks will last for a very long time. But how about Cy Young's 511 wins?! No one will ever come close to that, pitchers are lucky to reach 300 these days!
3 months ago
I wouldn't say it will never be broken. There are definitely players around that are capable of doing it. Most notably for me would be Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, David Wright, or any number of young players in the NL West.
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