Joe DiMaggio
Joe DiMaggio is one of the most iconic baseball players of all time, and though his career was one of the shortest among the players on this list, he was among the best players in the league for his entire career.
As a rookie in 1936, DiMaggio led the league in triples and set a Yankees rookie record by hitting 29 home runs, a record which stood until last season, when Aaron Judge eclipsed it. He also hit .323, then topped it with a .346 average in the World Series, bringing home a championship as a rookie.
His second season was his best, as he led the league with 151 runs scored, 46 home runs, 418 total bases, and a .673 slugging percentage, but he finished as the MVP runner-up to Charlie Gehringer. The Yankees capped off that season with another championship, making him 2 for 2 to start his career.
Two years later, he finally earned his first MVP after earning his first batting title with a .381 average, and that season ended with yet another World Series title, his 4th in 4 seasons as a pro. He repeated as batting champ in 1940, but the Yankees failed to reach the World Series for the first time in his career, making the season a bit of a disappointment.
1941 is the season that made him a legend. He won the MVP after winning the RBI title, but what really put him over the top was his 56-game hitting streak, which beat the modern record of 41 and the all-time record of 44. The only player to reach 40 since then was Pete Rose, who reached 44, so no player before or since has come close to his record.
Before the 1943 season, DiMaggio enlisted in the Army, causing him to miss the next 3 seasons, though he never saw combat due to his fame, instead being assigned to play on military all-star teams to entertain the troops, even after requesting a combat role because he was embarrassed by the ease of his service.
He was awarded his 3rd MVP in 1947, despite having one of his worst statistical seasons, then finished as runner-up in 1948 after leading the league in homers and RBI. He ended up playing a total of 13 seasons, reaching the World Series 10 times, and winning 9 championship rings, which puts him behind only Yogi Berra in history.
The shortness of DiMaggio's career kept him from rising higher in these rankings, but no one can say that he isn't one of the all-time greats. In addition to all those championships, he owns 3 MVP's and 2 batting titles, and what is probably the most unbreakable record in baseball. It is unfortunate that he had to miss 3 years in the prime of his career due to war, but he is definitely one of the greatest ever to take the field.
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