Outfielder, New
York Yankees
Age: 24
4th season
with Yankees
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’2” Weight: 193
Prior to 1939:
Born in
California as the son of an Italian immigrant fisherman, DiMaggio was raised in
San Francisco where he played for several amateur and semi-pro baseball teams
before he followed his older brother Vince onto the San Francisco Seals of the
Pacific Coast League near the end of the 1932 season. Signed for $225 per month
to play for the Seals in 1933 he was shifted from shortstop to the outfield.
His 1933 season was highlighted by a PCL-record 61-game hitting streak on his
way to a .340 average with 28 home runs and 169 RBIs. DiMaggio hit .341 in 101
games for the Seals in 1934 until he was sidelined by a knee injury that made
major league teams leery of pursuing him. The Yankees offered the Seals five
players and $25,000 for DiMaggio’s contract, under the provision that he would
play for the Seals in 1935 and prove that his knee was healthy. He had a big
year with 34 home runs, 154 RBIs, and a .398 batting average. Joining the
Yankees in 1936 he made an immediate impact, batting .323 with 44 doubles, a
league-leading 15 triples, 29 home runs, and 125 RBIs. He also led AL
outfielders with 22 assists and started for the AL in the All-Star Game and
finished eighth in league MVP voting while the Yankees returned to the top of
the AL for the first time in four years and won the World Series. DiMaggio had
a bigger year in 1937, placing second in AL MVP voting while leading the
circuit in runs scored (151), home runs (46), slugging percentage (.673), and
total bases (418) while also hitting .346 and accounting for 18 outfield
assists. He had a third straight All-Star season in 1938 in which he batted
.324 with 32 doubles, 13 triples, 32 home runs, and 140 RBIs. In the field he
contributed 20 assists. He ranked sixth in AL MVP voting as the Yankees made it
three straight World Series titles. An excellent all-around batter who hit for
power and average out of a wide stance, DiMaggio was also a formidable
baserunner and covered much ground in center field with his speed and as his
outfield assist numbers reveal, he had a strong throwing arm.
1939 Season Summary
Appeared in 120
games
CF – 117, PH – 3
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 524
At Bats – 462
Runs – 108 [9]
Hits – 176 [8]
Doubles – 32 [9,
tied with Joe Gordon]
Triples – 6
Home Runs – 30
[4]
RBI – 126 [2]
Bases on Balls
– 52
Int. BB – N/A
Strikeouts – 20
Stolen Bases – 3
Caught Stealing
– 0
Average - .381
[1]
OBP - .448 [3]
Slugging Pct. -
.671 [2]
Total Bases – 310
[6]
GDP – 11 [20,
tied with six others]
Hit by Pitches
– 4 [5, tied with Billy Sullivan, Bill Dickey & Dario Lodigiani]
Sac Hits – 6
Sac Flies – N/A
League-leading
batting average was +.021 ahead of runner-up Jimmie Foxx
Midseason
snapshot: HR - 8, RBI - 42, AVG - .435, SLG PCT - .695
---
Most hits, game
– 4 (in 5 AB) vs. Bos. Red Sox 7/9, (in 5 AB) at Phila. A’s 8/13
Longest hitting
streak – 18 games
HR at home – 12
HR on road – 18
Most home runs,
game – 2 (in 5 AB) at Phila. A’s 6/28, (in 5 AB) vs. Detroit 8/3, (in 5 AB) at
Phila. A’s 8/13, (in 4 AB) at Detroit 8/28
Multi-HR games
– 4
Most RBIs, game
– 8 at Detroit 8/28
Pinch-hitting –
1 of 1 (1.000) with 2 RBI
Fielding
Chances – 346
Put Outs – 328
Assists – 13
Errors – 5
DP – 2
Pct. - .986
Postseason
Batting: 4 G (World Series vs. Cincinnati)
PA – 17,AB – 16,
R – 3, H – 5, 2B – 0, 3B – 0, HR – 1, RBI – 3, BB – 1, IBB – 1, SO – 1, SB – 0,
CS – 0, AVG - .313, OBP - .353, SLG - .500, TB – 8, GDP – 1, HBP – 0, SH – 0,
SF – N/A
Awards & Honors:
AL MVP: BBWAA
MLB Player of
the Year: Sporting News
All-Star (Started
for AL in CF)
Top 5 in AL MVP
Voting:
Joe DiMaggio,
NYY.: 280 pts. - 15 of 24 first place votes, 83% share
Jimmie Foxx,
BosRS.: 170 pts. – 1 first place vote, 51% share
Bob Feller,
Clev.: 155 pts. – 3 first place votes, 46% share
Ted Williams,
BosRS.: 126 pts. – 38% share
Red Ruffing,
NYY: 116 pts. – 35% share
(3 first place
votes for Bill Dickey, NYY, who ranked sixth, and one apiece for Dutch Leonard,
Wash., who ranked seventh & Mike Kreevich, ChiWS, who ranked tenth)
---
Yankees went 106-45
to win the AL pennant by 17 games over the Boston Red Sox while leading the
league in runs scored (967), home runs (166), RBIs (904), walks drawn (701),
OBP (.374), total bases (2388), and slugging (.451). The Yankees weathered the
sad conclusion of first baseman Lou Gehrig’s great career to dominate the AL on
the way to a fourth consecutive pennant. Won World Series over the Cincinnati
Reds, 4 games to 0. The sweep and fourth straight championship was sealed when
DiMaggio scored the winning run in Game 4 as Cincinnati catcher Ernie Lombardi lay
dazed next to home plate following a collision with another scoring baserunner.
Aftermath of ‘39:
The Yankees
dropped to third place in the AL in 1940, but DiMaggio was not at fault as he
again topped the league’s batters with a .352 average while also compiling 28
doubles, 9 triples, 31 home runs, and 133 RBIs. His 1941 season was highlighted
by a record 56-game hitting streak and he finished with a .357 average along
with 43 doubles, 11 triples, 30 home runs, and a league-leading 125 RBIs. The
Yankees won the pennant and World Series and DiMaggio, known as “Joltin’ Joe”
and “the Yankee Clipper”, received his second AL MVP award. In 1942 his batting
average dropped to .305 while he still contributed 29 doubles, 13 triples, 21
home runs, and 114 RBIs. He missed the next three seasons as a result of World
War II duty in the Army Air Force. Returning to the Yankees in 1946 he had a
relative off-year, batting .290 with 25 home runs and 95 RBIs for the
third-place team. In the off-season, a bone spur was surgically removed from
his left heel. Further surgery kept DiMaggio out of action until mid-April of
the 1947 season. He ended up hitting .315 with 31 doubles, 10 triples, 20 home
runs, and 97 RBIs for the pennant-winning Yankees, and in the outfield
committed only one error and had a league-best .997 fielding percentage. He won
his third AL MVP award by a single vote over Boston’s Triple Crown-winning Ted
Williams. In the World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers, DiMaggio hit two
home runs and most memorably was robbed of a potential third in Game 6 on a
spectacular catch by obscure reserve outfielder Al Gionfriddo, eliciting a rare
display of emotion from the typically reserved and undemonstrative DiMaggio,
who kicked the dirt near second base in frustration upon seeing the catch had
been made. The Yankees finished third in a torrid AL pennant race in 1948
although DiMaggio batted .320 and topped the league in home runs (39), RBIs
(155), and total bases (355). He placed second in league MVP voting. The
chronic heel injury caused him to miss the first 65 games of the 1949 season
and a bout with pneumonia put him in the hospital in September. Appearing in
just 76 games he hit .346 with 14 home runs and 67 RBIs. DiMaggio played in 139
games in 1950 and batted .301 with 32 home runs and 122 RBIs. With age and
injuries catching up to him, he played one more season in 1951, hitting .263
with 12 home runs and 71 RBIs. He retired and for his major league career that
was spent entirely with the Yankees, DiMaggio batted .325 with 2214 hits that
included 389 doubles, 131 triples, and 361 home runs. He also accumulated 1537
RBIs. Playing in ten World Series (9 of which the Yanks won), “the Yankee
Clipper” hit .271 with 8 home runs and 30 RBIs. DiMaggio, generally recognized
as the best ballplayer of his era, was a 13-time All-Star and was inducted into
the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1955. The Yankees retired his #5 and after his
death in 1999 a monument was placed in his honor at Yankee Stadium’s Monument
Park. Classy and dignified, DiMaggio personified the Yankee championship teams
of his time. In retirement he had a short marriage to glamorous actress Marilyn
Monroe that kept his name in the public eye and fell victim to his private
nature and discomfort with the trappings of celebrity. He later served as a
vice president and coach for the Oakland Athletics and a commercial
spokesperson for several businesses. His brothers Vince and Dom also played
major league baseball and were fine center fielders in their own right.
--
MVP Profiles feature players in the National or
American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award
(1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present)
as Most Valuable Player.
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