Dom DiMaggio, A Little Brother in the Big Leagues, Dies at 92

MAY 8, 2009 TAGS: BASEBALL, BROTHERS, LEGENDS, FAMILY ADD A COMMENT

Imagine being the younger brother of Joe DiMaggio. What could you possibly do to stand out? Now imagine that you are slimmer and shorter than your older brother Joe, and you wear round, boyish spectacles. That should give you some idea what it was like to be Dom DiMaggio, the Boston Red Sox centerfielder, who despite being the eclipsed in talent and notoriety by his brother, forged a stellar 11-season career the Big Leagues.

Dom died on May 8th. He was 92. The Boston Globe, in their obit, added that in addition to having the pleasure of being overshadowed by his brother, Dom also played alongside Ted Williams, one of the greatest hitters of all-time.

The author David Halberstam described Mr. DiMaggio as “probably the most underrated player of his day.” Playing in the shadow of the era’s two biggest superstars made that inevitable, perhaps. But neither of his great contemporaries failed to appreciate Mr. DiMaggio’s talents. Williams considered him “the best leadoff man in the American League,” and his older brother called him “the best defensive outfielder I’ve ever seen.”

With a career batting average of .298, Dom's stats were impressive. He finished as high as 9th in MVP consideration during the 1946 season and batted .328 in 1950. During the 10 full seasons he played, he was selected as an All-Star seven times. In 1949, Dom batted .307 with 126 runs, and had his team-record 34-game hitting streak. That streak was cut short by an outstanding catch made by his brother Joe in a game against the Yankees on August 9th that summer. Tough luck Dom.