The youngest and smallest of the three DiMaggio brothers, the bespectacled centerfielder was a perennial All-Star with the Red Sox for 11 seasons, missing three years of his prime because of WWII. Twice DiMaggio, together with Ted Williams, was part of a .300-hitting outfield, once in his rookie year of 1940 with Doc Cramer in right field, and again 10 years later in 1950 with Al Zarilla in right. A slick fielder, fans used to yell that he played his own position as well as the slow-footed Williams’s spot in left field. DiMaggio set the pace for consistency, hitting in 34 straight games in 1949, and another 27 straight in 1951, and scored more than 100 runs seven times. In the 1946 Series, he scored the deciding run in Game Five to give the Red Sox a 3-2 edge in the Series, eventually lost in seven games to the Cardinals on Enos Slaughter‘s dash for home. Twice DiMaggio led the league in at-bats from his leadoff spot, and twice in runs scored. He shared the outfield with brother Joe in three All-Star games, and drove him in with a single in the 1941 game.
