David Rockoff and Philip Yates

One of the most-celebrated feats in the history of American sports is baseball player Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak during the 1941 season. In major league baseball, a 30% success rate by a hitter is considered good, and a batter will typically have three to five attempts in a game; Joltin’ Joe hit safely in 56 consecutive games, a record that has rarely been approached since. One might wonder just how amazing this accomplishment is, or how surprised people should be that there has been such a long streak in the history of the sport. Many have attempted to quantify this using statistical methods.

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