On July 17, 1941, the Cleveland Indians, led by Ken Keltner put an end to Joe DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak. The streak is considered one of the greatest feats in baseball history. This (like hitting .400) is one of those records that when you compare to today's athletes, you just marvel at how such a streak ever happened. How is it possible?
Whether such a record(s) could ever be broken remains to be seen, of course. We live in a different world now. Modern sports athletes are subject to unbelievable pressures and distractions that come with the need for instant gratification, the so-called 24/7 information society. If a player would get anywhere near the record, the focus and attention brought upon him would be almost unimaginable. Under those circumstances it seems like breaking this record is just inconceivable.
Some might suggest Barry Bonds surpassing Hank Aaron on the all-time home run list as an example that it might be possible to break such a record under the scrutiny of today's media, and this is true. He in fact did achieve this infamy under a microscope. But then again, in that case, he allegedly had some help (i.e., steroids). Also, while the pressure to hit home runs was indeed great, he had 20 years time to break the record. Much of his accomplishments (say at the beginning of his career) were under "the radar" of a media frenzy. And, as he came down the stretch, say the last 50-60 homers, he didn't have to go out and hit a home run every night. Often, he could afford to off from the pressures of chasing the record. He could go one, two, even three weeks without hitting a homer and he still be in the hunt. Of course this is because Bonds' record was cumulative while DiMaggio's is not. Bonds did not have to "sustain" home runs. He just had to accumualte them and then maintain a reasonable pace based on projections of how many he might need to hit over the remaining years of his career. In DiMaggio's case it was much simpler. He had to sustain the streak to keep it alive. So, go to the park, get a hit, the streak continues. Go to the park, do not get a hit, the streak ends. Simple, yet much, much harder to accomplish.
As far as I know, unlike Bonds' alleged assistance from steroids, there is no magic pill that make you get base hits. The steroids might help you build muscle and keep you healthier by virtue of not getting hurt as often. It also supposedly helps you heal quicker. But none of that will help you get hits every night. And so to me, breaking the 56-game hitting streak, if ever accomplished, will be a far greater feat than breaking Bonds record. That for sure.
Several players have had hitting streaks lasting into the 30's. But only three players got past 35 games. Louis Castillio in 2002 and Chase Utley in 2006 made it to 35. Paul Molitor had a 39 game hitting streak stopped in 1987 and Jimmy Rollins had a 38 game hitting streak, but that was spread over two seasons (2005 and 2006).
The only player to make it into the 40's was Pete Rose, who hit in 44 straight games in 1978. As tremendous a feat that was, it was still far short of DiMaggio's record. Now that is amazing.
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