Outfielder, New
York Yankees
Age: 32
9th season
with Yankees
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’2” Weight: 193
Prior to 1947:
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. In 1939, DiMaggio hit a league-leading
.381 along with 30 home runs, 126 RBIs, a .448 on-base percentage, and a .671
slugging percentage. He received league MVP honors for the first time as the
Yankees won another title. He capped the four-game sweep of Cincinnati in the
World Series when he 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. 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 DiMaggio saw his batting average drop 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 offseason, a bone
spur was surgically removed from his left heel. Further surgery kept DiMaggio
out of action until mid-April of the 1947 season.
1947 Season Summary
Appeared in 141
games
CF – 139, PH –
2
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 601
At Bats – 534
Runs – 97 [5]
Hits – 168 [5,
tied with Bob Dillinger]
Doubles – 31 [4]
Triples – 10 [4,
tied with Bobby Doerr & Dale Mitchell]
Home Runs – 20
[6]
RBI – 97 [3]
Bases on Balls
– 64 [18, tied with Luke Appling & Elmer Valo]
Int. BB – 15
[2, tied with George McQuinn]
Strikeouts – 32
Stolen Bases – 3
Caught Stealing
– 0
Average - .315
[7]
OBP - .391 [8]
Slugging Pct. -
.522 [2]
Total Bases – 279
[2, tied with Joe Gordon]
GDP – 14 [15,
tied with six others]
Hit by Pitches
– 3 [10, tied with eight others]
Sac Hits – 0
Sac Flies – N/A
Midseason snapshot: 2B – 19, 3B – 3, HR - 11, RBI - 50, AVG - .338, SLG - .559, OBP – .422
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Most hits, game
– 4 (in 5 AB) vs. Bos. Red Sox 5/25, (in 5 AB) at Cleveland 6/1, (in 5 AB) at
Detroit 6/3, (in 5 AB) at Bos. Red Sox 9/3
Longest hitting
streak – 16 games
HR at home – 9
HR on road – 11
Most home runs,
game – 2 (in 5 AB) at Cleveland 6/1
Multi-HR games
– 1
Most RBIs, game
– 5 at Cleveland 6/1
Pinch-hitting – 0 for 2 (.000)
Fielding
Chances – 319
Put Outs – 316
Assists – 2
Errors – 1
DP – 0
Pct. - .997
Postseason
Batting: 7 G (World Series vs. Brooklyn)
PA – 32,AB – 26,
R – 4, H – 6, 2B – 0, 3B – 0, HR – 2, RBI – 5, BB – 6, IBB – 1, SO – 2, SB – 0,
CS – 0, AVG - .231, OBP - .375, SLG - .462, TB – 12, GDP – 3, HBP – 0, SH – 0,
SF – N/A
Awards & Honors:
AL MVP: BBWAA
All-Star (Started
for AL in CF)
Top 5 in AL MVP
Voting:
Joe DiMaggio,
NYY.: 202 points - 8 of 24 first place votes, 60% share
Ted Williams,
BosRS.: 201 points – 3 first place votes, 60% share
Lou Boudreau,
Clev.: 168 points – 1 first place vote, 50% share
Joe Page, NYY: 167
points – 7 first place votes, 50% share
George Kell,
Det.: 132 points – 39% share
(3 first place
votes for George McQuinn, NYY who ranked sixth; 2 first place votes for Eddie
Joost, PhilaA who ranked 11th)
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The Yankees
went 97-57 to win the AL pennant by 12 games over the Detroit Tigers while
leading the league in runs scored (794), hits (1439), triples (72), home runs
(115), RBIs (748), batting (.271), slugging (.407) and total bases (2158). In
first place by 4.5 games following a loss at Washington in the first game of a June
29 double header, the Yankees proceeded to win 19 straight games to increase
their margin to 11.5 games. The double-digit lead held up the rest of the way. Won
World Series over the Brooklyn Dodgers, 4 games to 3 in a hard-fought Series
filled with memorable moments. Aside from hitting two home runs DiMaggio 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.
Aftermath of 1947:
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 compiled 1537 RBIs, a .398 on-base percentage, and a .579 slugging percentage. Playing in ten World Series (9 of which the Yanks won), “the Yankee Clipper” hit .271 with 8 home runs and 30 RBIs. DiMaggio 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 each fine center fielders.
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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.
