DiMaggio's 56-game Hitting Streak May Be One of Sports Untouchable Records

During his 35-game hitting streak, Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley received praise from sports writers and fans alike. It was an impressive accomplishment, to be sure, but still far short of Joe DiMaggio's standard of 56 games in 1941.

Think about it. Utley hit safely in 35 straight games and that was barely 60 percent of DiMaggio's streak. That is why Joe D's feat ranks as one of the truly great accomplishments in sports history and stands as one of baseball's cherished records that may never be broken. Utley's streak finally ended last Friday night, when he went 0-for-5 against the New York Mets at Shea Stadium.

During his streak, Joe D batted .408 with 15 home runs and 55 runs batted in. Even non-sports fans know about his 56-game hitting streak, which became the subject of a song, but what a lot of people may not know is that after it ended, DiMaggio put together another one of 15 games. That's hitting safely in 71 of 72 games - wow.

One reason why DiMaggio's streak may never be touched is specialized pitching. In Joe D's day, the travel wasn't as good but there also were no set-up men, no long relievers and no closers designated to pitch only the ninth inning. DiMaggio might have faced the same pitcher four times. Today, a hitter could see four different pitchers in the same game. That makes it harder to adjust from each at-bat.

And imagine the pressure and media attention. Utley managed to avoid talking about his streak as much as possible but that would have been nearly impossible if he had gotten the streak much higher. The media crush simply wasn't as great during DiMaggio's time.

Really, the only time anyone should get excited about the possibility of DIMaggio's streak being threatened is when someone gets into the 40s. In the last 65 years, the only player to hit safely in more than 40 games was Pete Rose, who set a National League record with a 44-game hitting streak in 1978.

In recent years, there have been other impressive streaks. Earlier this season, Utley's teammate, Jimmy Rollins, extended a hitting streak that he started last year to 38 games. Milwaukee Brewers Hall of Famer Paul Molitor hit safely in 39 consecutive games in 1987and there have been a number of players with hitting streaks of 30 games or more but nobody has come close to DiMaggio.

He can rest comfortably. No one is going to threaten "56" anytime soon.