Joe DiMaggio

This picture of Joe DiMaggio was taken in 1941, five years after he left his job at an orange juice company to sign with the N.Y. Yankees for $75,000, and the same year in which #5 set what most think is baseball's unbreakable record.

• Born Joseph Paul DiMaggio Jr. on Nov. 25, 1914 in Martinez, Calif., the second youngest of nine children.
• Began playing minor league baseball as a shortstop in San Francisco at age 17.
• In 1933, he hit safely in 61 straight games for the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League.
• He spent his entire Major League Baseball career with the New York Yankees (1936-51), but missed three seasons (1943-45) during the peak of his career to serve in WWII.
• As a rookie with the N.Y. Yankees in 1936, DiMaggio hit .323, slugged 29 home runs and tied for the league lead in triples (15) and outfield assists (22).
• In 1941 he set an all-time major league record by getting a hit in 56 consecutive games.
• During his 56-game hit streak, he batted .408 and had 91 hits in 223 at bats.
• Won the American League Most Valuable Player Award in 1939, 1941 and 1947.
• At Yankee Stadium over his career he hit .315 and hit a home run once every 22.7 at bats. On the road he hit .333 and hit one home run every 16.2 at bats.
• He struck out just 369 times in 6,821 career at bats.
• His lifetime batting average was .325. He won batting titles in 1939 and 1940.
• His lifetime home run total was 361. He won home run titles in 1937 and 1948.
• His lifetime runs-batted-in total was 1,537 (118 per-year average). He won RBI titles in 1941 and 1948.
• Led the Yankees to 10 American League pennants and nine World Series championships.
• Had a .336 lifetime batting average and had 30 RBI in 51 World Series games.
• Was not elected to National Baseball Hall of Fame until his second year of eligibility, 1955.

Related Links:

All-Time World Series Leaders

Consecutive Game Streaks

Baseball All-Time Team

Retired MLB numbers