Hitless games

 

A few weeks ago, I was watching a baseball game and the broadcaster mentioned that a player did hit very well in the minors and there were only a few games that he went hitless in a single season. Well, I began to check some players’ records after hearing that.

In 1941, Joe DiMaggio set the MLB record of a 56-game hitting streak, which is probably the hardest record to break. It was a great season for DiMaggio, he slashed .357/.440/.643 with 30 home runs and 125 RBI. He played 139 games and there were only 25 games that DiMaggio didn’t have a hit. And, he got the MVP award in that season.

Number of games without a hit Joe DiMaggio
Year	Number of hitless games
1936	29
1937	22
1938	34
1939	26
1940	18
1941	25
1942	38
1943-1945	Did not play
1946	34
1947	34
1948	34
1949	14
1950	41
1951	33

In DiMaggio’s legendary career, it’s actually rare to see him play a game without a hit. In 1937, he played 151 games and there were 22 games that he didn’t collect a hit. DiMaggio blasted 46 home runs in 1937 and he finished 2nd in the MVP voting. In 1940, DiMaggio played 132 games and there were only 18 games without a hit. He had a .352/.425/.626 slash line and finished 3rd in the MVP voting. Moreover, he only played 76 games in 1949 and he failed to have a hit in 14 games. DiMaggio had a career batting average of .325 and normally in a single season, there were 100 games that he had at least a hit.

In addition, Ichiro Suzuki had at least 200 hits in his first 10 seasons in the MLB.

Number of games without a hit Ichiro Suzuki
Year	Number of hitless games
2001	22
2002	32
2003	35
2004	27
2005	36
2006	37
2007	28
2008	31
2009	18
2010	32
2011	47
2012	51
2013	56
2014	69
2015	85
2016	82
2017	93
2018	9
2019	2

In Ichiro’s first 12 seasons in the majors, it was unusual to see Ichiro go hitless in a game. In Ichiro’s first season in the MLB, he slashed .350/.381/.457. He won the AL MVP award and Rookie of the Year award. He collected 242 hits in 157 games in 2001 and he went hitless in only 22 games. In 2004, Ichiro set a new record with 262 hits in a single season. He played 161 games in 2004 and went hitless in 27 games. He was hitting .372/.414/.455 in this unbelievable season. Furthermore, he played 146 games in 2009 and there were only 18 games that he didn’t have a hit. Ichiro retired in 2019 after playing two games with the Mariners. In total, Ichiro collected 3089 hits in his MLB career and he will be a Hall of Famer without any doubts.

So, how about Mike Trout, the best hitter of this generation?

 

Number of games without a hit Mike Trout
Year	Number of hitless games
2011	21
2012	34
2013	37
2014	47
2015	46
2016	49
2017	32
2018	50
2019	40
2020	16
2021	13

Mike Trout made it into the big league in 2011 and he played 40 games in that season. However, things didn’t go well, Trout had 21 games without a hit. In 2012, Trout’s first full season, he played 139 games and there were 34 games that he went hitless. Thus, he had 105 games with at least a hit in 2012. He finished 2nd in the 2012 MVP voting and won the Rookie of the Year award. So far, Trout already collected more than 1400 hits in his career. In the first half of the 2021 season, Trout played 36 games and there are 23 games that he collected at least a hit. Nonetheless, Trout is currently on the injured list.

Hitting is not easy. In a long season, there are ups and downs. Legendary players such as DiMaggio, Ichiro and Trout can collect at least a hit in more than 100 games in a single season. Sometimes, they might go hitless in a game. However, they know how to adjust and they normally don’t let their teammates and fans down.