As was mentioned in yesterday’s “Baseball Trivia” post, Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak came to an end on July 17, 1941. (The other baseball story that caught the nation’s attention that same season was Ted Williams and his successful pursuit of the magical .400 batting average mark.) Here are some facts about the “the streak,” gleaned from Baseball Almanac:
1) Start date: May 15, 1941 (DiMaggio has a single against the Chicago White Sox).
2) End date: July 17, 1941 (DiMaggio goes hitless against the Cleveland Indians, being robbed twice by third baseman Ken Keltner).
3) DiMaggio had 91 hits in his 223 at-bats during the streak (.408) – 56 singles, 16 doubles, 4 triples, and 15 home runs.
4) DiMaggio had one hit in 34 games, two hits in 13 games, three hits in 5 games, and four hits in 4 games.
5) During the streak, DiMaggio faced four pitchers who are now in the Hall of Fame: Lefty Grove, Bob Feller, Hal Newhouser, and Ted Lyons.
6) Yankee legend Lou Gehrig died during the streak at the age of 37.
Also, as noted by author Mike Vaccaro in his book 1941: The Greatest Year in Sports, DiMaggio began a new 16-game hitting streak with the next game, giving him the unbelievable achievement of hitting safely in 72 of 73 consecutive games (page 237). And what many readers may not know is that DiMaggio had a 61-game hitting streak in the Pacific Coast League in 1933!
In 2006, ESPN contributor Jayson Stark placed DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak at the top of his list of “The Ten Best Records in Baseball” (and by “best” he did not mean “unbreakable”):
1. 56: DiMaggio’s hitting streak in 1941
2. .400 batting average (last achieved in 1941 by Ted Williams)
3. 4,256 career hits (Pete Rose)
4. 30 wins in a season (last achieved in 1968 by Denny McLain)
5. 2,632 consecutive games played (Cal Ripken)
6. 59 scoreless innings (Orel Hershiser in 1988)
7. 191 RBI’s in a season (Hack Wilson in 1930)
8. 1.12 ERA (Bob Gibson in 1968)
9. 130 stolen bases in a season (Ricky Henderson in 1982)
10. 383 strikeouts in a season (Nolan Ryan in 1973)
On his “honorable mention” list, Stark mentions Johnny Vander Meer’s back-to-back no hitters, Nolan Ryan’s seven no-hitters and his 5,714 career strikeouts, Cy Young’s 511 career wins, Ichiro’s 262 hits in a season, and Ty Cobb’s .366 career batting average.
Some of these records may never be broken (three consecutive no-hitters?), but they seem (to me) to be more of a fluke than anything else (along the lines of two grand slams in the same inning by Fernando Tatis in 1999, also a record not likely to be broken). And others, like Bob Gibson's phenomenal ERA of 1.12 in "the year of the pitcher," prompted changes in the game (e.g., reconfiguration of the pitching mound). Yet others, like Cy Young's career win total will simply never be challenged (it may be a while before we see another pitcher with 300 career victories). But it is conceivable that a few of the other records — e.g., Ricky Henderson's season total of stolen bases; Ichiro's hit total for a season – could very well be broken. Here, then, are my "top five" records which I find most "impressive" (in no particular order):
* DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak
* Hershiser's record of 59 consecutive scoreless innings
* Cobb's lifetime batting average of .366
* Ryan's career record of 5,714 strikeouts
* Ted Williams and Rogers Hornsby winning the Triple Crown not once, but twice.
My "honorable mentions" go to Ryan for his seven no-hitters, and Wilson for his 191 RBI's in a season. (I'm guessing readers are most likely to bump Hershiser from their list.)
Readers also may find interesting the following:
David Robbeson’s article – 56* – in the October 2007 issue of The Walrus (discussing decisions, favorable to DiMaggio, by the official scorer in two games in which DiMaggio had only one hit).
Leonard Mlodinow’s article – The Triumph of the Random – from the 7/16/09 issue of the Wall Street Journal (discussing DiMaggio’s streak and the factor of “chance”).
Picture, top right: Card #38 in the Nu-Card Hi-Lites set from 1960.
The interesting fact about Williams' batting average is that he chose to play on the final day rather than sit and assure the title. He had 2 hits in three at bats and actually raised his average on the final day of the season!