Need a Jolt of Joltin Joe DiMaggio

"Joltin" Joe DiMiaggio was born November 1914 and would have an exciting life both in baseball and after he retired. The statistics in baseball are outstanding. He played for 13 years and was in the All-Star game all 13 years. He was in 9 World Series. DiMaggio was the first player to sign a $100,000 a year contract. This was in the 1950s! He played centerfield and batted right. He joined the Yankees and had number 5. 

Last week, I wrote about the 1949 Yankees. In that year, DiMaggio played 76 games and had 94 hits. He hit 14 homeruns. 

He would have 361 homers in his career. DiMaggio was so fast that he stole home base 9 times in his career. Let’s think about that. The pitcher is near home, the catcher’s job is to catch at home. So there are two players that cover home base and DiMaggio got around them and stole home. You have to be pretty fast and sneaky to get away with it once. He did it Nine times. 

On top of all these accomplishments, DiMaggio was also known for hit 56 game hitting streak. On May 5, 1941, DiMaggio started this streak that would last up to July 16. What happened next? He just set a record so he began another hitting streak on July 18. This streak lasted 16 games. In that year, he had a streak of getting hits in 72 of 73 games. 

For those who follow history, 1941 was also the year that Pearl Harbor was attacked. America went to war. DiMaggio had an incredible baseball career starting. He's stealing home base. He's setting records. He was on the way to big money. America was at war so he joined the Army on February 17, 1943 and rose to be a sergeant. Who knows how many more records I would write about in those years that he served. 

The only way to top off this incredible career is a spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Joltin Joe retired in 1951 and was in the Hall of Fame in 1955.