Baseball's Longest Hitting Streaks

SI Staff | May 27, 2016

Baseball's Longest Hitting Streaks

56 — Joe DiMaggio (1941)

AP

Joe DiMaggio's legendary 56-game hit streak lasted from May 15 to July 16 in 1941 — a hit every game for over two months. During the streak, the Yankee Clipper tallied 91 hits, 22 multi-hit games, five three-hit games, four four-hit games, a. 408 batting average, 15 home runs and 55 RBI's.

45 — Willie Keeler (1896-97)

It's not hard to believe that the man who coined the timeless adage "Hit 'em where they ain't" and who perfected the "Baltimore Chop" held the hit-streak record for 44 years. Keeler, who had a hit in 45 straight games in 1897, batted over .300 16 times in his career and ranks 14th on the all-time list with a .341 career average.

44 — Pete Rose (1978)

John Iacono

Out of the 4,256 hits that Pete Rose collected during his major league career, 66 of them came in 44 consecutive games during the 1978 season. After striking out against Gene Garber of the Braves to end the streak, the ever-competitive Rose criticized the pitcher, saying, "Garber pitched like it was the ninth inning of the seventh game of the World Series."

42 — Bill Dahlen (1894)

Despite posting an unremarkable career average of .272, Bill Dahlen hit safely in 42 consecutive games in 1894 — a streak which remains the second longest ever by a right-handed hitter. What is perhaps more impressive is that just a game after Dahlen ended the streak, he began another one which lasted 28 games.

41 — George Sisler (1922)

Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images

In 1922 — just two years after amassing 257 hits in a season (a mark which stood until Ichiro broke it with 262 in 2004) — George Sisler hit safely in 41 consecutive games. That season, he also batted .420, which remains the third highest average in the 20th century.

40 — Ty Cobb (1911)

Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images

As talented as he was coarse, Ty Cobb hit an all-time record .367 during his career and is the only player besides Pete Rose to tally over 4,000 hits. Cobb had a 40-game hit streak in 1911 while locked in a batting race with Shoeless Joe Jackson. He eventually won, hitting a league-leading .420, while leading the AL in numerous other categories as well.

39 — Paul Molitor (1987)

Casey Lake/AP

Unfortunately for Paul Molitor, his 39 game hit streak in 1987 ended while he was in the on-deck circle. Brewers teammate Rick Manning got a game-ending ending hit to beat the Cleveland Indians and deprived Molitor of one last chance to extend the streak. Still, Molitor's streak remains the longest since Pete Rose's in 1978.

38 — Jimmy Rollins (2005-06)

Mike Heape

Jimmy Rollins ended the 2005 season on a tear, hitting safely in 36 consecutive games. He notched a hit in his first two games of the 2006 season to extend the streak to 38, but struggled the rest of the first half, hitting just .259 before the All-Star Break.

37 — Tommy Holmes (1945)

AP

Tommy Holmes had a solid career with the Boston Braves from 1941-52, hitting over .300 every year from 1944 through 1948. His best season came in 1945, though, when he led the NL in hits (224), home runs (28) and doubles (47), finished second in batting (.352) and had a 37-game hitting streak.

36 — Gene DeMontreville (1896-97)

Gene DeMontreville's 36-game hitting streak was over the last 17 games of 1896 and the first 19 games of 1897 while playing shortstop for the Washington Senators. A career .303 hitter, DeMontreville batted .343 in 1896 and .341 the following season.

35 — Fred Clark (1895), Ty Cobb (1917), George Sisler (1924-25), Luis Castillo (2002), Chase Utley (2006)

Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images (3); Bob Rosato; Al Tielemans

Five different players have compiled streaks that lasted 35 games total. Fred Clarke was a premier hitter in his time — batting over .300 in 11 different seasons — and was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 1945. For Ty Cobb and George Sisler, this was only the second-longest hitting streak of their careers — Cobb made it to 40 games in 1911, and Sisler made it to 41 games in 1922. Luis Castillo's streak is the longest ever by a Latin player and is tied for the longest ever by a second baseman with Chase Utley.