Streak

by Seidel, Michael; Siegel, George ;

  All these matters are charted without charity in a recent biographical work on DiMaggio, which tends to make this quiet, insecure, and somewhat sad man into a much worse human being than he was. I took away a very different impression of DiMaggio when I spoke to him. I found him quietly engaging, mostly on the subject of his hitting streak but also generally on his entire baseball career. He called from San Francisco. My young son took the call and his own words are forever etched in memory: “Dad, Joe DiMaggio is on the phone.” DiMaggio told me that Giamatti had asked him to call because I wasn’t a journalist after dirt—just an innocent-enough teacher at Columbia University—and because my work on the hitting streak was mostly about baseball. If I wanted to talk with him, well, then, maybe he could help, though “Please,” he said, “nothing personal.”

  DiMaggio was unfailingly polite but clearly hesitant—even halting—for the first few moments he spoke to me. He truly thought I was after something, and he asked three or four times whether my interest was in baseball or in something else. He began by asking me what I taught at Columbia. Did I teach history? Are there courses in baseball history? He rambled for a moment about a writer in New York who said that because he, DiMaggio, was once seen having dinner at an Italian restaurant in Cleveland, he must have been a mobster. DiMaggio himself was steering the conversation toward dangerous territory.

  Was this a test? I sensed that I had best turn the talk to baseball, to 1941, and to the hitting streak. So I asked DiMaggio when he first knew he had a streak going. He said ballplayers always remember when they take the collar, so he must have known from the beginning because for a fact he hadn’t taken the collar since May 14,1941. But he began thinking about the streak around games 15 and 16 when the Yanks were in Boston for a Memorial Day doubleheader. He had flu symptoms and his whole back and arm ached. McCarthy (the Yankees’ manager) thought of scratching him from the lineup, but DiMaggio said he would play if Rizzuto would get his butt further out toward centerfield from shortstop to help with relay throws. Rizzuto or no, DiMaggio threw the ball every which way but straight in Fenway Park that day, committing three throwing errors. For good measure he muffed a ground-ball single. At the plate he managed to pop a wind-blown fly into right field for his only hit in game two. He recalls having barely kept the streak alive under miserable conditions, though at game 16 it mattered less to him than a cup of hot soup and getting into a warm bed.

  I asked him when he really started caring about the streak. He said he was just glad the Yanks were winning some games at that point, but around games 32 and 33 against Detroit, when he got seven straight hits, he began to think he would go on for a good run: “I wasn’t thinking consecutive streak games; I was thinking consecutive streak hits.” (What was that record? Later I checked—Pinky Higgins’s 12 straight hits.)

  The legendarily silent DiMaggio was almost abuzz. He was chatting away about baseball, and he was wistful only that he couldn’t remember things with the clarity he would have liked. There was but little of the DiMaggio whose reputation has been so tarnished of late, little of his glumness and reticence. And there were no mercenary moments at all. I heard not one ring of the cash register that was supposed to sound whenever DiMaggio opened his mouth. He asked for nothing, and he even told me that his first wife, Dorothy Arnold, had left him a collection of clippings from the early 1940s—maybe I would like to look at them. He warmed up more and more as I asked him questions about moments in the streak that the newspapers recorded but that still held some mystery for me—about tough grounders that might have been potential errors, about outfield catches, about the pressure that built during games in which he was hitless until later innings. Even when he had no recall of particular moments he talked fondly of the players involved, of what he thought of the pitchers in the American League, of how he changed his approach at the plate during the streak. For example, he hacked at pitches earlier in the count because bases on balls were what he feared most.

  At the time we spoke my book was almost ready to go to press. To be honest, I already knew most of what he had told me, and I knew that he had misremembered some of it. But the talk I had with him struck another chord. DiMaggio probably spoke more animatedly than he had intended because he so clearly missed the era that he helped to define. It soothed him to remember the 1940s. He spoke about living in New York (I told him I taught just forty blocks up the street from his West End Avenue apartment), and he spoke about the ride to Yankee Stadium, often in Lefty Gomez’s car up the West Side Highway (a portion of which now bears his name). He spoke of Bobby Feller, whom he said he could handle pretty well; of Ted Williams, who could hit the hell out of the ball; of Mickey Mantle, who was “just a kid.” When I mentioned some particular moments during the hitting streak he sounded almost eager to take his cuts again: “Oh, Johnny Babich,” he said about a Philadelphia A’s pitcher, “he wouldn’t throw me anything near the plate. I don’t know why. Everyone else tried to get me out on pitches I could swing at.” DiMaggio recalled how in game 40 of the streak he took one of Babich’s hopelessly outside pitches, stepped nearly across the plate, and thrashed the ball midriff-high on a line right past the pitcher’s mound and out into center field. Babich spun like a dervish dancer. It was one of the few times that the tone of DiMaggio’s voice became almost boastful. Not a Ted Williams boast, mind you, but something camouflaged as a self-congratulatory chuckle.

  After nearly an hour on the phone I asked DiMaggio whether playing for the Yanks in New York, especially in the year after Ruth departed and before Mantle came into his own, added to the mythology of his career. Silence. Then DiMaggio said, in an understatement that still registers for anyone who ever had the privilege of watching this wonderful athlete at bat or in the field, “Well, I think the way I played made my career.”

  Here is a man whose grace on the diamond and whose talismanic name embody the best of a game that is itself the best that sport has to offer. DiMaggio is now dead, but there is much that can be said on behalf of him and others who live on in our imaginations and who will continue to do so for as long as baseball lives on.

  Appendix

  Box Scores

  Runs batted in—Wright 4, DiMaggio, Kuhel 2, Knickerbocker 3, Kreevich, Hoag, Tresh.

  Two-base hits—Rizzuto, Hoag, Smith. Home runs—Kuhel, Wright, Knickerbocker. Double play—Appling, Knickerbocker, and Kuhel. Bases on balls—off Smith 1, off Stanceu 2, off Branch 3, off Bonham 1: Struck out—by Smith 4, by Bonham 4, by Stanceu 1. Hits—off Bonham 7 in 42/3 innings, off Stanceu 2, in 22/3 innings. Wild pitch—Branch. Losing pitcher—Bonham. Umpires—Grieve, Ormsby, and Hubbard. Time of game—2:10. Attendance—9,040.

  Runs batted in—Keller 2, Sturm, DiMaggio, Knickerbocker, Appling, Wright, Kreevich, Gordon, Ruffing.

  Two-base hits—Rosar, Knickerbocker. Three-base hits—DiMaggio, Gordon. Home runs—Keller, DiMaggio. Stolen base—Kreevich. Double plays—Gordon and Sturm; Crosetti, Gordon, and Sturm; Kuhel, Appling, and Kuhel. Bases on balls—off Lee 4, off Breuer 2. Struck out—by Lee 5, by Breuer 4, by Murphy 1. Hits—off Breuer 7 in 52/3 innings. Wild pitch—Breuer. Winning pitcher—Murphy. Umpires—Ormsby, Hubbard, and Grieve. Time of game—1:52. Attendance—1,483. Ladies day.

  Runs batted in—Hoag 2, Dickey, Wright, Rosar.

  Two-base hits—Dickey, Lodigiani, Knickerbocker. Three-base hit—Kreevich. Stolen base—Gordon. Double play—Crosetti and Sturm. Bases on balls—off Rigney 7, off Chandler 4. Struck out—by Rigney 5, by Chandler 2. Umpires—Hubbard, Grieve, and Ormsby. Time of game—2:18. Attendance—10,372.

  Runs batted in—Keller 2, Gordon 5, Clift, Rolfe, DiMaggio, Dickey, Crosetti 2.

  Two-base hits—Lucadello, Henrich, Rolfe, DiMaggio, Keller. Home runs—Clift, Gordon. Stolen bases—Lucadello, Laabs. Double play—Lucadello and Cullenbine. Bases on balls—off Harris 4, off Niggeling 3, off Gomez 5. Struck out—by Harris 1, by Gomez 5, by Niggeling 2. Hits—off Harris 11 in 4 innings. Wild pitch—Niggeling. Losing pitcher—Harris. Umpires—
Rue, Summers; and Stewart. Time of game—2:30. Attendance—30,109.

  Runs batted in—Clift, Heffner 2, Cullenbine 2. Dickey.

  Two-base hits—Heffner, Ferrell, Cullenbine, DiMaggio, Sturm. Home run—Dickey. Double play—Gale-house, Lucadello, and Cullenbine. Bases on balls—off Galehouse 3, off Russo 5. Struck out—by Galehouse 2, by Russo 2, by Stanceu 2. Hits—off Russo 6 in 6 innings, off Peek 1 in 2 innings. Wild pitch—Russo. Losing pitcher—Russo. Umpires—Summers, Stewart, and Rue. Time of game—2:08. Attendance—5,388.

  Runs batted in—Cullenbine 2, Clift 4, Estalella, Sturm, Henrich 2, DiMaggio, Ferrell, Dickey 3.

  Two-base hit—Lucadello. Three-base hit—Judnich. Home runs—Cullenbine, Clift 2, Dickey. Double plays—Heffner, Lucadello, and Cullenbine; Heffner and Cullenbine; Clift, Heffner, and Cullenbine; Caster, Lucadello, and Heffner. Bases on balls—off Auker 4, off Murphy 1, off Caster 1, off Ruffing 1. Struck out—by Auker 1, by Ruffing 4, by Murphy 2. Hits—off Ruffing 7 in 6 innings, off Murphy 4 in 2 innings (none out in ninth), off Auker 8 in 7 innings (none out in eighth). Hit by pitcher—by Caster 1. Wild pitch—Murphy. Winning pitcher—Branch. Losing pitcher—Caster. Umpires—Stewart, Rue, and Summers. Time of game—2:30. Attendance—3,628.

  Runs batted in—DiMaggio, Tebbetts, Rolfe 2, Mullin 2, McNair, Henrich 2.

  Two-base hits—Tebbetts, Donald, Sturm, Rolfe, Radcliff, Henrich. Three-base hit—Rolfe. Home run—Mullin. Double plays—Rolfe and Sturm; Keller, Rolfe, Sturm, and Gordon. Bases on balls—off Rowe 2, off Stanceu 2, off Donald 4, off Benton 3. Struck out—by Rowe 2, by Donald 7, by Benton 3, by Stanceu 2. Hits—off Rowe 9 in 6 innings, off Donald 7 in 7 innings. Hit by pitcher—by Donald 1. Winning pitcher—Stanceu. Losing pitcher—Benton. Umpires—Rue, Summers, and Stewart. Time of game—2:47. Attendance—10,596.

  Runs batted in—Radcliff 2, Henrich 2, DiMaggio, Campbell, Sullivan, Dickey 2, Crosetti, York.

  Two-base hits—Sullivan, Dickey. Three-base hit—Crosetti. Home runs—Henrich, Dickey. Double plays—Gordon, Crosetti, and Sturm; Crosetti, Gordon, and Sturm; Gordon and Sturm. Bases on balls—off Peek 4, off Branch 1, off Newsom 1. Struck out—by Peek 4, by Newsom 4, by McKain 3, by Branch 1. Hits—off Newsom 8 in 51/3 innings, off Peek 9 in 7 innings (none out in eighth). Hit by pitcher—by Newsom 1. Winning pitcher—Peek. Losing pitcher—Newsom. Umpires—Summers, Stewart, and Rue. Time of game—2:25. Attendance—10,156.

  Stopped by darkness.

  Runs batted in—Finney 3, Keller, J. DiMaggio 2, Henrich 2, Dickey, Williams 3, D. DiMaggio, Priddy, Judd 2.

  Two-base hits—Keller 2. Three-base hit—Keller. Home runs—Henrich, Finney. Double plays—Gordon, Crosetti, and Sturm 2; Rolfe, Gordon, and Sturm. Bases on balls—off Chandler 3, off Harris 1, off Stanceu 3, off Dickman 2, off Breuer 2, off H. Newsome 2, off Dobson 4, off Murphy 1, off Ryba 1. Struck out—by Chandler 1, by Harris 2, by Breuer 2, by Dickman 2, by Ryba 1. Hits—off Dobson 3 in 12/3 innings, off Harris 4 in 31/3 innings, off Dickman 1 in 2 innings, off H. Newsome 2 in 1 inning, off Chandler 7 in 5 innings (none out in sixth), off Stanceu 2 in 1 inning (none out in seventh), off Breuer 3 in 2 innings (none out in ninth). Wild pitch—Chandler. Umpires—Hubbard, Ormsby, and Rommel. Time of game—3:05. Attendance—8,584. Ladies day.

  Runs batted in—Foxx. Cronin 2, D. DiMaggio. Keller. Fox 2, Gordon, Sturm 2, J. DiMaggio.

  Two-base hit—Cronin. Three-base hits—Foxx, D. DiMaggio. Bases on balls—off Gomez 5, off Murphy 3, off Wilson 2. Struck out—by Gomez 2, by Johnson 3, by Fleming 1, by Wilson 1. Hits—off Gomez 9 in 61/3 innings, off Branch 0 in 2/3 inning, off Johnson 9 in 62/3 innings, off Fleming 0 in 1/3 inning. Passed ball—Pytlak. Winning pitcher—Branch. Losing pitcher—Johnson. Umpires—Ormsby, Rommel, and Hubbard. Time of game—2:23. Attendance—20,935.

  Runs batted in—L. Newsome, Williams 2, Fox 2, Keller 3, Peacock 2, Foxx 2.

  Two-base hits—Cronin, D. DiMaggio, Williams. Home run—Keller. Stolen bases—L. Newsome, Gordon. Double play—Foxx, Newsome, and Finney. Bases on balls—off Russo 2. off Stanceu 2, off Bonham 2, off Grove 2. Struck out—by Russo 8, by Stanceu 2, by Bonham 1, by Grove 1. Hits—off Russo 10 in 6 innings (none out in seventh), off Stanceu 1 in 1 inning. Losing pitcher—Russo. Umpires—Rommel, Hubbard, and Ormsby. Time of game—2:36. Attendance—36,461.

  Runs batted in—Rosar, Gordon 4, Case, Sturm, DiMaggio 3, Ruffing, Vernon, Bloodworth 2, Myer 2, Early.

  Two-base hits—Sturm, Gordon, Early, Myer, Henrich. Home run—DiMaggio. Stolen base—Gordon. Double plays—Chase and Vernon; Gordon and Sturm 2. Bases on balls—off Chase 1, off Anderson 2, off Ruffing 3, off Murphy 1. Struck out—by Anderson 1, by Chandler 1, by Zuber 1, by Masterson 1. Hits—off Ruffing 8 in 51/3 innings, off Murphy 3 in 2/3 innings (none out in seventh), off Chase 6 in 12/3 innings, off Anderson 6 in 32/3 innings, off Carrasquel 3 in 1 inning, off Zuber 3 in 2 innings. Wild pitch—Chandler. Winning pitcher—Ruffing. Losing pitcher—Anderson. Umpires—Hubbard. Ormsby, and Rommel. Time of game—2:33. Attendance—6,000.

  Night game.

  Runs batted in—Vernon, Myer, Travis, Henrich, Gordon, Selkirk 4, Early, Lewis.

  Three-base hits—DiMaggio, Case, Early. Home runs—Henrich, Selkirk. Stolen base—Case. Double play—Crosetti unassisted. Bases on balls—off Hudson 4, off Peek 3. Struck out—by Peek 2, by Hudson 4, by Carrasquel 2, by Breuer 1. Hits—off Peek 10 in 8 innings, off Hudson 7 in 71/3 innings. Winning pitcher—Peek. Losing pitcher—Hudson. Umpires—Ormsby, Rommel, Hubbard, and Pipgras. Time of game—2:30. Attendance—25,000.

  Stopped by rain.

  Runs batted in—Archie 2, Crosetti, Henrich.

  Three-base hit—Archie. Home run—Henrich. Stolen base—Rolfe. Bases on balls—off Russo 1. Struck out—by Russo 6, by Sundra 2. Umpires—Rommel, Hubbard, Pipgras, and Ormsby. Time of game—1:26. Attendance—1,500.

  Runs batted in—Rolfe. Keller, Crosetti 2, Finney, Cronin, Tabor.

  Two-base hits—D. DiMaggio, Williams. Home run—Rolfe. Double plays—Sturm, Crosetti, and Sturm; Rosar and Crosetti; Gordon, Crosetti, and Sturm. Bases on balls—off Donald 1, off Breuer 1, off Johnson 4. Struck out—by Donald 3, by Breuer 1, by Johnson 6. Hits—off Donald 9 in 7 innings. Winning pitcher—Breuer. Umpires—Summers, Rue, and Steward. Time of game—2:03. Attendance—34,500.

  Runs batted in—Williams, Fox 2, Pytlak 2, D. DiMaggio, Finney 2, Tabor 2.

  Two-base hit—J. DiMaggio, Cronin, Harris, Tabor 2. Home run—Tabor. Stolen bases—L. Newsome 2, Pytlak, Harris. Bases on balls—off Stanceu 1, off Chandler 3, off Branch 5. Struck out—by Stanceu 2, by Branch 3, by Harris 6. Hits—off Stanceu 9 in 22/3 innings, off Chandler 4 in 1 inning. Wild pitch—Chandler. Losing pitcher—Stanceu. Umpires—Summers, Rue, and Stewart. Time of game—2:30. Attendance—34,500.

  Runs batted in—Crosetti, Rosar.

  Two-base hit—Rosar. Stolen base—Keller. Double plays—Boudreau, Mack, and Trosky; Gordon and Sturm; Ruffing, Crosetti, and Sturm; Crosetti, Gordon, and Sturm. Bases on balls—off Milnar 5. Struck out—by Ruffing 1, by Milnar 3, by Heving 1. Hits—off Milnar 7 in 8 innings. Wild pitch—Milnar. Umpires—Rummel, Hubbard, and Ormsby. Time of game—1 57. Attendance—52,081.

  Runs batted in—Keltner, Gordon, Sturm 2, Selkirk 2, Heath, Walker.

  Two-base hits—Gordon 2, Keltner. Three-base hit—Heath. Home runs—Keltner, Sturm, Selkirk. Double play—Rolfe, Gordon, and Sturm. Bases on balls—off Harder 1, off Breuer 1. Struck out—by Gomez 5, by Harder 2. Hits—off Harder 7 in 8 innings, off Gomez 6 in 8 innings (none out in ninth). Wild pitch—Gomez. Winning pitcher—Gomez. Losing pitcher—Harder. Umpires—Rommel. Hubbard, and Ormsby. Time of game—1:53. Attendance—52,081.

  Runs batted in—Rosar, Crosetti, Henrich 3, Walker 2, Boudreau 2, Heath 2, Feller.

  Two-base hits—Boudreau, DiMaggio, Sturm. Three-base hits—Mack, Keltner. Home runs—Henrich 2, Heath. Double play—Sturm and Crosetti. Bases on balls—off Russo 6, off Feller 4. Struck out—by Chandler 2, by Feller 6. Hits—off Russo 10 in 5 innings
(none out in sixth), off Stanceu 0 in 1 inning. Wild pitch—Feller. Losing pitcher—Russo. Umpires—Hubbard, Ormsby, and Rommel. Time of game—2:23. Attendance—6,000.

  Runs batted in—Campbell, Higgins 2, Tebbetts, DiMaggio, Selkirk.

  Two-base hits—Higgins, Tebbetts, Rolfe. Home run—DiMaggio. Double play—Gehringer, Croucher, and York. Bases on balls—off Peek 2, off Trout 3. Struck out—by Peek 2, by Trout 3. Umpires—Rue, Stewart, and Summers. Time of game—1:39. Attendance—3,523.