Since 2001, Beat the Streak has challenged fans to go after one of the most hallowed records in all of sports: Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak. The Yankee Clipper established that mark in 1941, and no Major Leaguer — nor Beat the Streak player — has matched him.
But this season, Beat the Streak (available in the MLB PLAY app or at MLB.com/Play) is offering an additional challenge, beyond the pursuit of a streak that would pass DiMaggio and net the grand prize of $5.6 million.
The brand-new Club 56 group will give fans the opportunity to test their skills against a panel of MLB experts: Beat the Streak founder Gregg Klayman, researcher Sarah Langs, analyst Mike Petriello and senior data architect Tom Tango.
Are you a bigger baseball nerd than these stat wizards? Here’s an opportunity to prove it by joining Club 56 and going head to head to earn some impressive bragging rights. Then join or create more groups with your friends or coworkers to keep the fun going.
The idea behind Beat the Streak is simple. Pick one player (or two) every day who you think will get a hit. If that player — or players — comes through, your streak continues to the next day. If not, it ends. The objective is to build a streak that ultimately passes DiMaggio.
Easier said than done, of course. This is the 22nd season of Beat the Streak, and while more than 5 million unique users have participated in the free-to-play contest, nobody has ever reached, much less topped, 56. In fact, the longest streak anyone has recorded is 51, which has been accomplished by two people. (Though it should be noted, that’s longer than the longest hitting streak by a big leaguer since DiMaggio — 44 games by Pete Rose in 1978).
Fortunately, fans do have some help in their quest to reach 57. Beat the Streak provides hit probability estimates via a unique prediction model, providing guidance to supplement contestants’ own judgment and intuition. Then there’s the Streak Saver, which will automatically “save” your streak once per season, if one of your picks fails to get a hit when your streak is at least 10 games but no more than 15.
Will those tools be enough to help you conquer Club 56 — or even dethrone DiMaggio? Step up to the plate and find out.
