The 100 Greatest in 100 Days: #31 Joe DiMaggio

Joltin’ in at #31 is Joe DiMaggio. With just 7,642 career plate appearances due to three years serving in WWII, Joltin’ Joe had one of the shorter careers among the top-100, but he made the most of them. In just 13 seasons, he won three AL MVPs with two runner-ups and 10 top-10 finishes while also leading the Yankees to nine World Series titles. DiMaggio spent his entire career at or near the top of statistical leaderboards. He finished in the top-5 in home runs and slugging % 10 times, RBIs, runs created, and total bases nine times, and OPS+, extra-base hits, and triples eight times.   He owns the only season in MLB history with 215 hits, 45 home runs, and 150 runs and the only season with 45 home runs, 150 runs, and fewer than 40 strikeouts. Oh, by the way, he was only 22 years old when he did it. Joe’s the only player in history with more than 700 career walks, fewer than 400 strikeouts, and a .579 slugging %. He joins Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx, Ted Williams, and Lou Gehrig as the only five players in history with 350 home runs, a .325 batting average, and a .579 slugging % and his six consecutive 125 RBI-seasons are third behind only Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth for most all-time. DiMaggio’s .579 career slugging percentage is the 10th highest in baseball history.

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Hi (hopefully) awesome reader! I welcome your comments. However, please be aware that I make all of my arguments using facts, statistics, and logic. Unfortunately, the average comment on a top-100 list goes something like this:

"UR StooPid. (Insert player) is trash. I've watched (pick a sport) for (pick a number of years) and (pick a player) is better than everyone. UR DUMB. HAHA6969."

–Some Jabroni

As cognitively stimulating as this species of comment is, it ends up being a missed opportunity to share a nuanced perspective. I reply to all comments that show even the most basic levels of thought and humility. The people who make the comments like the example above are under the assumption that the three seconds of thought that popped into their brains after reading the list is more than the 1000s of hours that I put into creating and maintaining the lists. I would be happy to defend any placement, or make an adjustment if one is warranted. If you are a jabroni, like the one above, then your comment will die in the lonely void of the unpublished comments section.

For everyone else, I look forward to your comments!

P.S. The theme of this site and the top-100 lists is that athletes from previous generations have historically been grossly overrated by sports publications in a way that is statistically improbable. Click on the "About" dropdown menu to see just how badly the average top-100 list disproportionately favors athletes from older generations when leagues were smaller, race quotas existed, and globalization wasn't a thing. Also, please consider reading "The History" section of the sport you are commenting on.

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