Longest hitting streaks in MLB history: Top 10

Whenever the subject of unbeatable records comes up, Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak is near the top of the list. And, of course, with good reason. In addition to remaining locked in for almost two months to reach 56 games, a player has to have a fair amount of luck, too. DiMaggio’s streak would have stopped at 29 games had the official scorer not scored his lone hit against the White Sox a hit instead of an error on Luke Appling. In his 36th game he got his first hit in the eighth inning after Browns pitcher Bob Muncrief ignored his manager’s instructions to walk Joltin’ Joe. Pete Rose has come closest to reaching DiMaggio, and he was still twelve games away, stalling out at 44. There have only been 80 instances of players reaching at least a 28 game streak – just half of DiMaggio’s – in the history of baseball. Here are the top 10 longest hitting streaks in the history of baseball (since 1900).

Joe DiMaggio – 56 games — 1941

Among the 150 or so seasons of professional baseball, few can match 1941 for hitting feats. Not only did Ted Williams hit .406, but DiMaggio got a hit in every game from mid-May through mid-July. 56 games. That’s 36% of the season. It started quietly enough, with first inning single off of Eddie Smith of the White Sox to drive in Phil Rizzuto – the Yankees only run in a 15-1 loss – on May 15. DiMaggio had been in a bit of a slump, hitting just .197 in the previous 21 games. But DiMaggio caught fire, hitting .408 over the next 56 games, with a 1.181 OPS. His 15 home runs and 55 RBI in that span is impressive, but only 5 strikeouts in 247 plate appearances may be even more amazing. However, that wasn’t even his best stretch of making contact in 1941. From June 10 to August 7 – 56 games, 257 plate appearances – he struck out once! DiMaggio’s streak ended when he went 0-for-3 with a walk on July 17. But the next day he started a 16-game hit streak. DiMaggio won the MVP.

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Pete Rose – 44 games — 1978

It should be no surprise that the player with more base hits than anyone else who ever played is near the top for the longest hitting streak in the history of the game. Rose didn’t have much pop, and went homer-less in his streak. But he did hit .385, and also only struck out 5 times. His streak began June 14 against the Cubs with a single in the bottom of the first off of Dave Roberts. (Not the Dodgers manager.)  A single in the sixth inning off of Phil Niekro on July 31 extended his streak to 44 games, but was the final hit of the streak. The streak ended the next night against the Braves. Rose walked to leadoff the game, but then went 0-for-4, striking out against Gene Garber to end the game and the streak.

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George Sisler – 41 games – 1922

Sisler’s average had remained above .400 throughout the 1922 season. However, by July 26, he had hit just .242 in his last 15 games, and his average threatened to dip below .400 for the first time, standing at .406. But the next day, July 27, Sisler doubled off of Bob Shawkey of the Yankees in the bottom of the fourth inning. That started a 41-game hitting streak, during which Sisler hit .454, to raise his batting average to .421, and added a 1.104 OPS. He also only struck out 5 times. His streak ended September 18 against the Yankees with three groundouts and a pop out. Sisler finished a .420 average, 51 steals, and 134 runs, all of which led the league. He won the MVP, but missed the entire next season with vision trouble. He would return for seven more seasons in 1924, but “only” hit .320 for the rest of his career.

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Ty Cobb – 40 games – 1911

No one on this list had a higher batting average during their streak than Cobb did during his 1911 streak: .476. He also had more stolen bases – 21 – during his streak than any other player on the list. His 26 multi-hit games were also the most multi-hit games of anyone on this list. And he’s the only player with a five-hit game during his streak. Cobb’s streak started with a single and a double against Smokey Joe Wood and the Red Sox on May 15. Ed Walsh and his 0.55 ERA through 162.1 innings pitched ended Cobb’s streak in the first game of a doubleheader on July 4. Cobb, who was hitting .444 in 307 plate appearances at that point, “struggled” this rest of the season, hitting .398 the rest of the way to finish at .419. However, leading the AL in runs, hits, RBI, stolen bases, batting average, slugging, OPS, and OPS+ translated into Cobb winning the MVP.

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Paul Molitor – 39 games – 1987

With a double off of Kirk McCaskill of the Angels in the bottom of the second inning on July 16, Paul Molitor started a streak that would take him through the dog days of August. His 25 walks is the most of anyone on the list, which just makes his feat more impressive. After a hot start, Molitor had hit just .261 in the two months before his streak began. But hitting .415 for six weeks is a good way to forget about that. Molitor’s streak ended against the Indians on August 26. Rick Manning hit a single in the bottom of the tenth to give the Brewers a 1-0 victory after Teddy Higuera pitched a 3-hit, 10-inning complete game. Molitor was on deck. Only ten players have more career hits than Molitor.  

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Jimmy Rollins – 38 games – 2005-06

Few players have probably been more disappointed for the end of a baseball season than Jimmy Rollins in 2005. He finished the season with a 36-game hitting streak, and had to wait six months for the regular season to begin again so he could extend it. After hitting safely in his first two games of the 2006, Rollins went 0-for-4, getting shut down by Jason Marquis and Josh Hancock of the Cardinals. Rollins had 22 doubles during his streak, which is more than anyone else on this list. Rollins had been struggling prior to the streak, hitting only .156 in the three weeks before the streak began on August 23. The streak was a prelude to his 2007 season – the only 20 triple, 30 homer, 40 steal season in baseball history, which earned him the NL MVP.

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Tommy Holmes – 37 games – 1945

Tommy Holmes had the definition of a career year in 1945, which saw his career highs in nearly every offensive category, while leading the National League in home runs, doubles, hits, OBP, OPS, OPS+ and total bases. His 8.4 WAR also led the league, but he finished second in NL MVP voting to Phil Cavaretta of the pennant-winning Chicago Cubs. Holmes was already hitting .378 before game 1 of a doubleheader against the Phillies on June 6, when he went 3-for-6 to begin his streak. Holmes’ 1.193 OPS is the highest of anyone on this list, and his 2 strikeouts are the least of anyone.

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Chase Utley – 35 games – 2006

With his teammate’s streak ending early in the season, Utley began his own hit streak on June 23, with a home run off of Josh Beckett of the Red Sox in the top of the 7th. By the time his streak ended with an 0-for-4 on August 4 against the Mets, Utley had raised his batting average from .290 to .330 over the course of his streak, but then fell off the last two months of the year hitting .266. But, like with Rollins, 2006 was just a preview of the six-time all-star’s ability, and leadership, which would culminate in the 2008 World Series championship in Philadelphia.

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Luis Castillo – 35 games – 2002

Two hits on May 8 against the Padres began Castillo’s streak, which is the longest by a player born outside the United States. Castillo’s slap-hitting style resulted in 56 singles of the 62 hits during his streak. His 48 steals in 2002 led the NL, so he was always a threat to take an extra base any time he got on. The Tigers held him to 0-for-4 on June 22, which ended his streak. But his hot hitting in the first half resulted in the first of three All-Star selections.   

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George Sisler – 35 games – 1924-25

Had Sisler known how long his hit streak would extend, he may have been as disappointed about the season’s end as Rollins. But instead of reaching the end of the season while on a long streak, Sisler’s 1924 season ended with him hitting safely in the last game. When things got started again in April, Sisler hit safely in the first 34 games that he played, the longest streak to start a season in baseball history. By the end of the streak he was hitting .399 for the season. He hit “only” .329 the rest of the season. Of his 60 hits, 54 were singles, which contributed to his lowest OPS – .874 – on this list.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, November 30th, 2023 at 2:55 pm and is filed under Greatest of All Time Lists. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.