Unbreakable Legends: The Untold Stories Behind MLB’s Longest Hitting Streaks

Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak—etched into baseball lore as an untouchable Great American sporting feat—still looms large over the MLB record books more than eight decades later. But here’s a curveball: can anyone truly challenge a streak set in 1941, during an era vastly different from today’s game? Some might say hitting a baseball is the hardest thing in sports. Now imagine doing it safely, game after game, day after day. That’s the real magic here, a relentless dance with history and skill that few have come close to matching. From Bobby Witt Jr.’s impressive 22-game streak in 2025 to Ted Williams’ jaw-dropping consistency in reaching base 84 consecutive games, the quest to eclipse DiMaggio’s mark seems both tantalizingly close and impossibly distant. So, I ask you—will the Yankee Clipper ever be dethroned? Let’s take a deep dive into the modern era’s most extraordinary hitting streaks to find out. LEARN MORE
Ted Williams holds his own remarkable record, having reached base in 84 consecutive games in 1949 – 10 games longer than DiMaggio’s career high in 1941. But Williams’ longest hitting streak of his career was “only” 23 games in 1941.

“The only time to worry is when you’re not hitting,” he said. “I’m not worried now – I’m happy. It’s no strain to keep on hitting. It’s a strain not to be hitting. That’s when your nerves get jumpy.”

But Sisler didn’t just set the single-season hits mark (modern era) with 257 in 1920, he also put together a record 41-game hitting streak on the way to a .420 batting average two years later. He didn’t stop then, adding a 35-game hitting streak between the 1924 and 1925 seasons.

That’s why Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak – the longest such run of all time – is considered to be one of the most celebrated and unbreakable marks in the game’s history. Coincidentally, Williams posted another number that isn’t likely to be matched any time soon by hitting .406 in that 1941 season.

Did DiMaggio get tired? Was he feeling the pressure as the streak wore on? Apparently not.

Rose may not have come all that close to DiMaggio’s tear 37 years earlier, but he set the modern-day mark for longest hitting streak in the National League. Perhaps what was most remarkable about Rose’s accomplishment was that he was 37 years old and supposedly near the end of his career.

Sisler wasn’t all that well known in baseball lore until 2004 when a Seattle Mariners rookie named Ichiro Suzuki shattered his 83-year-old record for the most hits in a single season.

“Molitor didn’t walk across the lake to get here, and he didn’t change his clothes in the phone booth,” said Cleveland manager Doc Edwards after his team ended the streak at County Stadium in Milwaukee on Aug. 25. “He’s just another tough hitter.”

The Five Longest Hitting Streaks in MLB History

1. 56 – Joe DiMaggio, New York Yankees (May 15 – July 16, 1941)

Here is more on those marks, along with the other longest hitting streaks in the modern era (since 1901). MLB’s official hit streak criteria apply here, so all games with at least one at-bat or sacrifice fly.

So reaching base safely via a hit against major league pitching is even tougher. And recording a hit day after day after day is the stuff of legends.

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2. 44 – Pete Rose, Cincinnati Reds (June 14 – July 31, 1978)

DiMaggio hit .408 with 15 home runs and 55 RBIs across the streak. Even after it ended, he started another 16-game hitting streak. When it was all said-and-done, he had hit safely in 72 of a 73-game stretch.

Molitor, considered one of the best right-handed hitters of all time, finished with 3,319 hits through 21 big league seasons with the Brewers, Toronto Blue Jays and Minnesota Twins. He took home four Silver Slugger awards, made seven All-Star teams and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2004.

3. 41 – George Sisler, St. Louis Cardinals (July 27, 1922 – Sept. 17, 1922)

Was he a fierce competitor? Yes. Was he one of the best players of his era For sure. Could he hit? Absolutely. Say what you want about Cobb, but there’s no doubting he was one of the best players of all time.

Additional detail sourced from the National Baseball Hall of Fame official website.

4. 40 – Ty Cobb, Detroit Tigers (May 15 – July 2, 1911)

Cobb won nine consecutive American League batting titles from 1907-15, but he batted a career-high .420 and hit safely in 40 straight games on the way to winning the AL MVP Award in 1911. He also put together a 35-game hitting streak six years later for the Tigers.

How impressive is the Yankee Clipper’s hitting streak? It’s been more than 80 years since he put it together and no one has come within 10 games of the mark. The closest has been all-time hits leader Pete Rose’s 44-game streak in 1978.

5. 39 – Paul Molitor, Milwaukee Brewers (July 16 – Aug. 25, 1987)

To further the point, when Bobby Witt Jr. hit safely in 22 consecutive games in 2025, it was the Kansas City Royals’ longest such streak since Whit Merrifield hit in a franchise-record 31 straight from Sept. 10, 2018 to April 10, 2019. Merrifield’s streak is also the only one to make it past 27 games between then and start of the 2025 season.

Believe it or not, Molitor became the closest American League player to DiMaggio’s record with his 39-game streak 46 years later in 1987.

Some believe hitting a baseball is the most difficult thing to do in all of sports.

The Rest of the 10 Longest Hitting Streaks

• 38 – Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia Phillies (Aug. 23, 2005 – April 5, 2006)
• 37 – Tommy Holmes, Boston Red Sox (June 6 – July 8, 1945) 
• 35 – Ty Cobb, Detroit Tigers (May 31 – July 5, 1917)
• 35 – George Sisler, St. Louis Cardinals (Sept. 27, 1924 – May 19, 1925)
• 35 – Luis Castillo, Florida Marlins (May 8 – June 21, 2002)
• 35 – Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies (June 23 – Aug. 3, 2006)

Will Joe DiMaggio’s mark ever be broken? It doesn’t seem likely, given the history. We break down the longest hitting streaks in MLB’s modern era.
When the streak reached 30-plus games, Rose began targeting those ahead of him. He wanted to pass Ty Cobb, who had a 40-game streak, and then George Sisler, who hit in 41 straight. He would get to Wee Willie Keeler, who got to 44 straight in 1896 (before the modern era), but that was it.