In baseball, a hitting streak is the number of consecutive official games in which a player appears and gets at least one base hit. According to the Official Baseball Rules, such a streak is not necessarily ended when a player has at least 1 plate appearance and no hits. A streak shall not be terminated if all official plate appearances result in a base on balls, hit by pitch, defensive interference or a sacrifice bunt. The streak shall terminate if the player has a sacrifice fly and no hit.
Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak in 1941 is the longest in Major League Baseball history.
Joseph Paul DiMaggio, nicknamed "Joltin' Joe", "the Yankee Clipper" and "Joe D.", was an American baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees. Born to Italian immigrants in California, he is widely considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time and is best known for setting the record for the longest hitting streak in baseball, which still stands today.
DiMaggio with the New York Yankees in 1939
A baseball card of DiMaggio with the San Francisco Seals, c. 1933–36
Seven of the American League's 1937 All-Star players: Lou Gehrig, Joe Cronin, Bill Dickey, Joe DiMaggio, Charlie Gehringer, Jimmie Foxx, and Hank Greenberg. All seven were inducted into the Hall of Fame.
DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle at Yankee Stadium in 1970, two years after Mantle's retirement
