Posted on 05/16/2016 2:06:16 PM PDT by nickcarraway
It was 75 years ago today when New York Yankees center fielder Joe DiMaggio hit a single in a 13-1 drubbing to the Chicago White Sox. That hit was the first step in what became a hitting streak which hit 56 games. This record still stands 75 years later.
As I write this, I am watching the Boston Red Sox-Houston Astros game. A short time ago, Red Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley, Jr. hit a single to extend his hitting streak to 21 games. It’s nothing to sneeze at as Bradley is rapidly emerging was one of the premier players in MLB. But to give you an idea of how monumental DiMaggio’s hitting streak is Bradley would have to collect a base hit in every Red Sox game between tomorrow and June 24th when they begin a 3-game series against the Texas Rangers (assuming Bradley isn’t given a day off or if a game isn’t postponed by rain).
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A record that probably will stand for a long, long time.
His dad was an Italian fisherman in San Fran during WW2 so the authorities impounded his dad’s fishing boat:
Didn’t want him contacting U-boats.
Other:
Fort Meade started out as an internment camp for German-Americans and Italian-Americans.
I didn’t think anyone would get the triple crown, but Cabrera did it. The big reason is the relief pitching now. The old guys had a higher mound, scuffed up balls, the umps called the high strike, and crappy travel. The new guys have to deal with a lot more pitchers, and everyone throws harder when they are in better shape and know they are only in for one inning.
It’s possible. But if Ichiro in his prime didn’t even get into the 30s I don’t see it as too likely.
Freegards
Kramer: I just saw Joe DiMaggio in Dinky Donuts. You know, I looked in there and there he was having coffee and a donut.
Jerry: Joe DiMaggio? In Dinky Donuts?
Kramer: Yeah. Joe DiMaggio.
Jerry: I’m sorry, if Joe DiMaggio wants a donut he goes to a fancy restaurant or a hotel. He’s not sitting in Dinky Donuts.
Kramer: Well maybe he likes Dinky Donuts.
George: I don’t even like to sit next to a man on an airplane ‘cause our knees might touch.
Jerry: I can’t see Joe DiMaggio sitting at the counter in little tiny filthy smelly Dinky Donuts.
Kramer: Why can’t Joe DiMaggio have a donut like everyone else?
Jerry: He can have a donut, but not at Dinky.
George: I don’t even like to use urinals, I’ve always been a stall man.
Kramer: Look I’m telling— (he does a double take and looks at George) I’m telling you, that was Joe DiMaggio.
George: The guy slept with Marilyn Monroe, he’s in Dinky Donuts.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Longest_Hitting_Streaks
Where has he gone?
Segregationist Alabama Gov. George Wallace was shot while campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination in Laurel, Maryland, and left paralyzed below the waist until his death in 1998. The next day, he won primary victories in Michigan and Maryland. However, Wallace’s wounds ended his third presidential campaign. Arthur Bremer, 21, of Milwaukee, was arrested after being pummeled by Wallace backers. Bremer was sentenced to 63 years in prison, but was paroled in 2007 after serving 35 years. In addition to 1972, Wallace ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1964 and in 1968.
I like the one with Dick Powell.
“Why? I like the one with Dick Powell. “
The running narration in the movie is about the streak
In recent decades, the bigger obstacle to winning the Triple Crown was specialization among hitters. A dominant power hitter who could also hit for a high batting average was a rarity from the 1970s to the steroid era.
Perfect game in a World Series. That will never happen again. The man is still alive.
But you are much more likely to make a pitching change up by one in the 7th for a batter that has 46 home runs in late August and the 2nd highest batting average than a guy with the highest batting average and 3 home runs. The higher average/slap hitter guy that has a lot of infield singles is less of a threat in that situation. So it makes it much harder for the rare high average power guy to keep that average up, he is much more likely to get a pitching change when he can change the score with one swing.
Freegards
DiMaggio hit 15 HRs during the streak.
I wonder how many strike outs he had. DiMaggio had ninety-one hits in two-hundred twenty-three at bats during the stretch, hitting .409.
I also wonder how many pitchers he saw, and how many times he batted against the same pitcher per game. The hitters today might see 3 or 4 or even more times as many pitchers. Plus, he is seeing some of those guys more because of the 4 man rotation, and there being less teams.
Freegards
If DiMaggio had extended the streak one-more game to 57 games, he would have received $10,000 from the Heinz 57 company. That was some serious coin back during that time.
But, it also was not the longest streak in DiMaggio’s career. He had a 61-game streak with the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League in 1933. (Second longest in Minor League History)
My sense is that the HR and RBI titles aren't the difficult part of the Triple Crown -- the batting title is. It's not unusual to see a player lead the league in both HRs and RBIs. It's rare to see one win an HR title and a batting title in the same year.
1. Ty Cobb's .366 lifetime batting average.
2. Nolan Ryan's career strikeout total of 5,714 (it will be rare to see a pitcher get to 3,000 Ks again).
3. Cy Young's 511 career wins as a pitcher.
4. Johnny Vander Meer's two straight no-hitters (a pitcher would need to pitch three straight in order to break this record).
It's no coincidence that most of the "unbreakable" records are pitching records. That's because pitching is the one part of the game that has changed most dramatically -- in ways that make it harder to even approach these numbers -- since these records were set.
One of the ways I determine just how difficult a record is to break is to look at the gap between the record and the second-best figure.
Hack Wilson's 190 RBIs is an amazing figure, but in the modern age of performance-enhancing drugs and occasional periods of ridiculous offensive numbers this figure isn't outlandish. Cy Young's 511 career wins, on the other hand, is almost 100 more than the next pitcher on the career list for victories (Walter Johnson, with 417). Greg Maddux had 355 career wins, the most ever by a pitcher who retired after 1965. The way pitching has changed in recent decades, the 250-win career has replaced the 300-win career as a benchmark for "great" pitchers.
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