Which one would you have rather seen?

[Tank]

Joe Dimaggio's 56 game hitting streak or Ted Williams' .406 season? Why?

Edited March 15, 2022 by Tank

[arch stanton]

Does it matter that it was the same season?

[Blarg]

Then I'd go with William's and see them both as they play each other. 

[Tank]

16 minutes ago, arch stanton said:

Does it matter that it was the same season?

nope, not to me.

[Blarg]

Here is something interesting. Ted Williams had 71 triples, 14 in his second season alone. He hit 2 at the age of 39. 

Mike Trout currently has 49 and 9 more years on his contract. Does he pass Williams or not? That is 22 over the next 9 years but between injuries and his stolen bases geared way back along with him hitting for more power than gaps, will he be able to do it? 

[Justin]

DiMaggio, by far.

Williams had several 0-fer games - including five in a row at one point - during his .406 season.

DiMaggio, by definition, did not have a single 0-fer during his streak. I cannot imagine what it must have been like to watch, especially those games where he did not get a hit until the final at bat.

Hell, I was really excited by Fletcher's 26-game streak last season. Imagine if Trout or Ohtani had a streak reach the 30s or (gulp) 40s. My God.

[T.G.]

There goes Blarg trying to hijack Tank’s thread.

[failos]

@EnglishCop should arrest Tank for this thread title.

[failos]

Also, I would go with DiMaggio. His feat is unbreakable.

[Angels 1961]

23 minutes ago, failos said:

Also, I would go with DiMaggio. His feat is unbreakable.

Ted Williams hitting 406 will never be broken

[Angelsfan1984]

I mean several people have come close to Williams. Nobody has come that close to DiMaggio. 

[jsnpritchett]

1 minute ago, Angelsfan1984 said:

I mean several people have come close to Williams. Nobody has come that close to DiMaggio. 

DiMaggio had a 61-game hitting streak as an 18-year-old in the PCL:

https://www.milb.com/news/dimaggio-s-pcl-stint-was-one-for-the-ages-212550244

 

[Angelsjunky]

10 hours ago, Blarg said:

Here is something interesting. Ted Williams had 71 triples, 14 in his second season alone. He hit 2 at the age of 39. 

Mike Trout currently has 49 and 9 more years on his contract. Does he pass Williams or not? That is 22 over the next 9 years but between injuries and his stolen bases geared way back along with him hitting for more power than gaps, will he be able to do it? 

Triples are one stat that have changed over time. Back then the ballparks were generally bigger, with more possibility for the ball to bounce around in the corners, so triples were more common. They were basically weird doubles. Now they are weird doubles hit by fast players.

Or to put it another way, from 1871-2021 there have been 113 player seasons with 20+ triples, only 3 of which were done in the 21st century (last 22 seasons) and none since 2007 when both Curtis Granderson and Jimmy Rollins did it.

[m0nkey]

3 hours ago, True Grich said:

There goes Blarg trying to hijack Tank’s thread.

Wasn't even interesting

[Puget Sound Angel]

With the over saturation of media today, I don't think any player could not handle the scrutiny of such pressure.

Joe and Ted did not have to deal with it to this degree in their day.

[T.G.]

39 minutes ago, Puget Sound Angel said:

With the over saturation of media today, I don't think any player could not handle the scrutiny of such pressure.

Joe and Ted did not have to deal with it to this degree in their day.

Ted Williams was a fighter pilot in the war... I don't think media scrutiny would be any pressure to him.

[HanfordGuy]

I would say DiMaggio because of his incredible summer streak during which he only failed to get a hit once in a period of 73 games. Williams had the better season but his team was out of it when September rolled around. 
 

DiMaggio: 185 OPS+, 9.4 WAR

Williams: 235 OPS+, 10.4 WAR

[Jason]

9 hours ago, failos said:

Also, I would go with DiMaggio. His feat is unbreakable.

 

9 hours ago, Angels 1961 said:

Ted Williams hitting 406 will never be broken

You both are correct 

[Angels 1961]

12 minutes ago, Jason said:

 

You both are correct 

Pete Rose hit in 44 games. Tony Gwynn hit 394 and George Brett hit 390. Many forget this player at age 38 he hit 388, with 38 HR 1257 OPS and a 526 OBP. Yes it was Ted Williams in 1957. At age 22 Ted Williams hit 406.

[Angels 1961]

44 minutes ago, HanfordGuy said:

I would say DiMaggio because of his incredible summer streak during which he only failed to get a hit once in a period of 73 games. Williams had the better season but his team was out of it when September rolled around. 
 

DiMaggio: 185 OPS+, 9.4 WAR

Williams: 235 OPS+, 10.4 WAR

Ted Williams at age 38 hit 388, 38 HR  233 OPS+ 526 OBP

[Angels 1961]

9 hours ago, jsnpritchett said:

DiMaggio had a 61-game hitting streak as an 18-year-old in the PCL:

https://www.milb.com/news/dimaggio-s-pcl-stint-was-one-for-the-ages-212550244

 

Williams hit 406 at 22 in majors. Williams hit 388 at age 38.

[jsnpritchett]

47 minutes ago, Angels 1961 said:

Williams hit 406 at 22 in majors. Williams hit 388 at age 38.

Uh ok. 

[Duren, Duren]

Purely from a fan perspective that specific season, DiMaggio would have been more interesting to follow once he passed the 20 game mark. At first just out of curiosity to see how far he could go. But once he got to 40, then broke the record and kept going, every at bat would have been dramatic. So really, only about the last month of the that streak would have been exciting.

Williams was consistent around the high three hundreds, but really picked it up late in the season. But .400 had been done before, so it wasn't unprecedented, though it was done decades earlier.

His final game when he could have sat at .399+ and been rounded off to .400 was where the legend was made. His manager offered to rest him, but he played a doubleheader and had a bunch of hits if I remember the story correctly. So the last game really was where all the the drama of the story is based on 

Also remember that DiMaggio got more exposure through New York media and played on championship teams. His streak came in context of a team aiming for a pennant  And that meant more pressure on him. Williams had more of a personal focus on teams that never won championships and often weren't even serious contenders. 

ultimately, Williams was the better hitter, DiMaggio the better all around player.

 

 

[Tank]

14 hours ago, failos said:

@EnglishCop should arrest Tank for this thread title.

how would have written it, mr. hemingway?

[failos]

41 minutes ago, Tank said:

how would have written it, mr. hemingway?

“Which one would you have rather seen?”