Will Anyone Break DiMaggio’s Streak?!
By Tyler Lakin | May 13 2009
How hard can it possibly be to get a single base hit in 56 straight games? All you gotta do is squeak one through in every game you play. Even if you go 1-4 with a bloop single, it still counts! Ryan Zimmerman, you have let all of us down.
Okay… so maybe it’s not that easy, and that’s why it may never be broken - or at least not for a long, long time. Tonight Ryan Zimmerman’s streak of 30 snapped. Not to discredit Ryan, but was anyone really expecting him to break Joe DiMaggio’s historic streak of 56? Joltin Joe’s streak is legendary, but still something attainable, which is why hit streaks get so much attention in the press.
There are some records in baseball which will simply never fall. Cy Young has 511 wins to his name. He is 96 above the pitcher in 2nd place; Walter Johnson has 417. Those win totals are just impossible in today’s game. The streak of 56 is something that can be done, hitters still play every day, whereas pitchers taking the mound every 5 games who are limited on pitch counts pretty much have no chance to get 500, 400, or maybe now even 300 wins. Randy Johnson is 2 games away from win number 300, and after that is doubtful we’ll ever witness another 300 game winner. Jamie Moyer is at 248, but I don’t think we’ll see him join the club seeing that his grandson will be born soon (I can already hear Jamie complaining about the early bird special at the local Denny’s). The only pitcher who has a realistic shot at 300 is probably C.C. Sabathia who is at 119 wins as of now and is only 28 years old. 10 years of 18 wins a season, which is unbelievable in general, would get him to 299. The game has changed too much for us to see a pitching record like that fall thanks to pitch counts, new strategies, and more obstacles.
However, hitting records are completely up for grabs. Even though the steroid era is probably over (who knows), the home run record won’t belong to Barry Bonds forever. A great natural hitter might come along and eclipse Pete Rose’s 4,256 hits. A burner might come on the scene and take down Rickey Henderson and his 1,406 stolen bases. It might take a very, VERY long time, but those things can happen. Why is it extra hard for the streak of 56 to fall? Well, once again, the game has changed. Back when DiMaggio played, pitchers would pitch all game. Hitters could get 3, 4, or even 5 looks at them in a game. They could figure out what they’re throwing, if they have patterns, and more. It’s really a big advantage for a hitter. Now the trend is for pitchers to be on tight pitch counts, so pitchers tend to come out of games earlier than they had been in the past. Zimmerman could be seeing four different pitchers in four different at bats in a single game. A few nights ago “Baseball Tonight” reported that Joe DiMaggio had faced 53 different pitchers during his record setting hit streak. Zimmerman was already well over 53 different pitchers, and he was just over halfway to 56 games at that point. Just a bit different, don’t you think?
I’m not saying it’s impossible… but with the changes to today’s game, it sure is hard.
Will DiMaggio’s streak of 56 ever be broken? Tell us what you think in the comments below!
I agree. The record could be broken. As far as baseball records go, it is actually one of the most reachable, right? Like you said, no one is going to get more wins than Cy Young, more saves than Trevor Hoffman, or more strike outs than Nolan Ryan. Pitching has changed, hitting is still hitting. Ricky’s stolen bases record is likely safe since the game has changed, but the hitting streak could be pieced together. I don’t even think it is the pitchers that will stop it (expansion has diluted pitching to probably equal that to DiMaggio’s era). I think the biggest difference is that people might (I wasn’t alive) care more now, which leads to more intentional walks (or the classic unintentional-intentional walk). Pitchers will stop pitching to someone.
In order for someone to break the record they would need to be protected to avoid that (think Ryan Braun being protected by Prince Fielder).
Hey Phillip, thanks for the comment! I don’t know if I would call it one of the MOST reachable. I would have to think something like hits in a single season would belong to a new record holder before someone breaks the streak (even though Sisler’s record stood for 84 years). With that being said, the streak is physically attainable in today’s game. And on the protection case, I think it’s going to take more than just one Prince Fielder.
Even though I say most attainable, I still don’t think it likely anyone even sniffs at it. But since all the pitching stats are safe (maybe saves?), and power numbers are safe. I guess RBIs and something like doubles could be broken. Even hits in a season, I mean, Pete Rose didn’t even hit that many, nor has Ichiro. Sad to think that so many records are out of reach. I guess it is time for a new era, so we can throw out all the old pitching and hitting stats. Or just start caring more about the new stats, like WHIP (lets hope that isn’t what happens).
Jacoby Ellsbury is going to break it! He’s got a 10 gamer going already!! :-p
And C.C. aint getting 300, he’s way too big, those ankles can’t support that for over 10 more years! AL East is also a tough division to pitch in.