MLB Showdown Obsession

 In 1941, Joe DiMaggio put together one of the most untouchable records in baseball history. Starting on May 15, he began a 56 game hitting streak that not only captured the attention of the sports world, but it rallied a slumping Yankees team to go on to win the pennant and ultimately the World Series. It was such an accomplishment, that it overshadowed Ted Williams and his .402 BA to win the MVP award. What begins today is a lookback to not only DiMaggio's hit streak game by game, but the individual pitchers that he and the Yankees victimized. Game 0 May 14, 1941 Indians: 4 Yankees: 1 Dimaggio: 0-3 Before any streak can begin, DiMaggio needs to go hitless. Mel Harder would go on to contribute to Joe's streak, but on this day, he held down the fort, walking DiMaggio at one point but keeping him out of the hit column. ********************* Game 1 May 15, 1941 White Sox: 13 Yankees: 1 DiMaggio: 1-4, RBI The Yankees got spanked on this day, with Eddie Smith going the distance and...

 Texas baseball had recently seen success, but for the longest time it had a less prestigious track record. The Astros in the 80s struggled to win the NL West and when they did they'd always get checked in the NLCS while the Rangers never sniffed the playoffs, and before that neither team stood much of a chance. In the 90s, both teams became contenders, but teams like the Yankees and Braves proved to be too overpowered for them. In the 2000s, the Astros finally clinched a pennant but failed in the World Series while the Rangers slipped back into obscurity. The Rangers themselves finally won pennants in 2010 and 2011, but both times were on the wrong end of the fall classic result. Finally in 2017, the Astros put Texas on top of the baseball world, but their cheating scandal put a huge asterisk on all their accomplishments. What Texas needed was a clean title to brag about. In 2023, the Astros were reigning champions, but nobody was accepting it as clean. The Rangers went into the s...