On May 15, 1941, Joe DiMaggio singled off Chicago White Sox left-hander Eddie Smith in the first inning at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees lost the game 13-1. DiMaggio went 1-for-4. Nobody noticed. It was the first hit in a 56-game hitting streak that would consume the country for the next two months — and is still considered the most unbreakable record in baseball history. DiMaggio would hit safely in every game until July 17, when Cleveland's Al Smith and Jim Bagby (with two great defensive plays by third baseman Ken Keltner) finally shut him down. Across those 56 games he hit .408, scored 56 runs, drove in 55, and hit 15 home runs. The next day he started a 16-game streak, meaning he hit safely in 72 of 73 games. Pete Rose's 44-game streak in 1978 is the closest anyone has come in the 85 years since. Nobody else has cleared 40. "Joltin' Joe" remains the only player in MLB history with a streak even half as long.
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