WilsonC wrote:
"I can't imagine a Tony Gwynn or Wade Boggs or Rod Carew would be in anyway inferior to DiMaggio in the traits needed to establish such a record. While the streak is impressive, and is something that will likely stand for a long time, hitting streaks aren't a true measure of any real skill."
In looking at DiMaggio's strek and trying to account for it beyond random chance and dumb luck, I've suggested that it is a combination of authoritative contact [with considerable power] and consistency of contact.
Without trying to create yet another statistic, I measured the greats [above] by HR/K ratios, and DiMaggio just jumped off the sheet.
If we take the players you've named and apply the same ratios, we get:
Player Name..............K............HR.............Rati o %
Tony Gwynn.............135........434............. .311
Wade Boggs.............118........745............. .158
Rod Carew................92........1028............ .089
... plus a few other great contact hitters
Pete Rose...............160........1143............ .140
Cecil Travis
[pre WW II]..............25.........220............. .114
*George Sisler...........102.........327............. .312
**Ty Cobb.................117.........500........... .234
Paul Molitor.............234........1244............ .188
*George Sisler, actual numbers, dead ball era
**Ty Cobb, Estimated K's [several years missing]
Now, if those HR/K ratios hold up as a possible predictor of prolonged streaks because of an element of power [authority=hard-hit], then any list of prolonged streaks on record should have Sisler, Gwynn, Cobb, Molitor, Boggs, Rose, Travis and Carew as contenders.
Among leaders short of DiMaggio's 56 are:
Pete Rose 44
George Sisler, twice, best = 41
Ty Cobb, 40
Paul Molitor, 39
Boggs, Travis and Carew not mentioned.
This does nothing to put down those players. It merely suggests that contact hitters with more power may have a better chance of prolonged hitting streaks.
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