56-Game Hitting Streak

Lore & Background

DiMaggio began his professional career in 1933 with the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League (PCL). That season, he had hits in 61 straight games, breaking the PCL record of 49 games that had been held by Jack Ness. That streak is the second-longest in the history of Minor League Baseball, behind a 69-game streak by Joe Wilhoit, and remains a PCL record. After joining the Yankees in 1936, DiMaggio became the club's center fielder and was a member of World Series-winning teams in each of his first four major league seasons.

In 1940, however, the Yankees failed to top the American League (AL) for the first time in DiMaggio's career, despite his league-leading .352 batting average, and a 23-game hitting streak that was the longest in MLB that season. The Yankees got off to a mediocre start in 1941, and were mired in fourth place in the middle of May. DiMaggio went through a batting slump in which he hit only .194 over a 20-game period.

Reader's Guide

The streak began on May 15, 1941, when DiMaggio hit a run-scoring single off White Sox pitcher Eddie Smith. He extended the streak through numerous games, including close calls such as a game against the Senators where a fourth-inning hit was required after a sixth-inning hit was expunged due to rain. On June 10, a ground ball to third baseman Dario Lodigiani that was mishandled was ruled a hit by the official scorer, extending the streak to 25 games. On June 16, DiMaggio matched the franchise record with a fifth-inning double. The streak reached 30 games on a play where a ground ball took a bad bounce off shortstop Luke Appling and was ruled a hit by official scorer Dan Daniel.