MLB: 56 Games - The Unbreakable Record

Arguably the hardest thing to do in sports is hit a baseball. Baseball is a sport where you are considered a great hitter if you succeed three out of ten times at the plate. Hitting a baseball is an incredible combination of vision, hand-eye coordination, and pure physics. The hand-eye coordination alone takes years to perfect. A batter has roughly 0.4 seconds to hit a baseball traveling 95 miles per hour to the plate.

In that span of time, a batter has to find the ball out of the pitcher’s hand, decide where the ball is going, and swing the bat. It becomes even more challenging when pitchers are mixing in change-ups, sliders, curve balls, etc. The pitchers are getting paid to get hitters out.

Not to be forgotten are the nine fielders on the opposing team waiting to get the batter out if the ball is hit into fair territory. A little luck on occasion doesn’t hurt either.

Joe DiMaggio, the great New York Yankee centerfielder, could hit a baseball better than most. DiMaggio is arguably one of the greatest hitters to ever play the game of baseball. He accomplished something during the summer of 1941 that no one thought could be done. 

On May 15, 1941 DiMaggio went 1-4 with a first inning single off of Eddie Smith of the Chicago White Sox, and what is now simply known as “The Streak” was underway.

Game after game, week after week passed, and DiMaggio kept hitting at a torrid pace. There were a few close calls along the way.

In game 38 of the streak at Yankee Stadium on June 26, 1941, vs. the St. Louis Browns, DiMaggio found himself 0 for 3 on the day in the bottom of the eighth inning. DiMaggio was due up fourth in the lineup. If the Yankees kept their lead in the ninth they would not bat in the bottom of the ninth so this was very likely his last chance. Luckily Red Rolfe drew a walk, DiMaggio eventually came to bat, and he promptly lined Eldon Auker’s first pitch into the outfield for a double to extend the streak.

Finally, on July 14, 1941, DiMaggio went 0 for 3 vs. the Cleveland Indians and the streak came to an end.

When all was said and done DiMaggio would hit safely in 56 straight games, shattering the previous record of 44 set by Willie Keeler in 1896.No player has had a streak of more than 44 games since 1941 either.

What DiMaggio accomplished was remarkable. He did arguably the hardest thing in sports, close to perfection, for just over two months straight, and he set the bar for hitting. He established a benchmark of consistency and excellence, as well as set a record that has stood for 66 years now, one of the great records in all of sports, a record that will always stand the test of time.