| One of three DiMaggio brothers to play in the major leagues. Dom was an outstanding fielder and excellent leadoff man throughout the 1940's and early 1950's. Dom was the youngest and smallest of the DiMaggio brothers.
Famous Baseball Players
Five times he hit over .300, his high mark was .328 in 1950. In 1949, Dom DiMaggio batted safely in 34 consecutive games and had his streak end when his brother Joe made a fine running catch late in the game.
Nicknamed the "the Little Professor", Dom stood 5-9 and weighed 165 lbs. In his rookie season, 1940, he hit .298, scored 80 runs and lined 32 doubles. He proved to be a top leadoff man by walking 90 times or more in three different seasons.
Dom played in seven All-Star games and was considered the top fielding CF of the 1940's, and was often referred to as "Jesse James without a horse," because of many robberies of potential hits. Playing alongside slow footed, Ted Williams, Dom was called upon to make to make running catches towards leftfield to compensate for Ted Williams' defensive shortcomings.
In 1948, Dom set the American League record with his 503 putouts. His record stood for 29 years until Chet Lemon broke it. Among AL centerfielders, only Chet Lemon had more 400 plus-chance seasons than Dom DiMaggio.
In 1946, Dom helped the Red Sox win the AL pennant with his .316 batting average. Dom hit .328 in 1950, including 30 doubles, 11 triples and 7 home runs.
Dom DiMaggio career numbers: .298 BA in 1399 games, over 300 doubles and he scored over 1,000 runs. An eye injury forced Dom to retire from the game in 1953. baseballhistorian.com |
