For a span of nearly two months, "Joltin' Joe" DiMaggio set the baseball world on fire with a streak that still to this day defies all odds. "The Yankee Clipper" recorded a base hit in FIFTY-SIX consecutive games for the powerhouse New York Yankees from May 15 to July 17 of 1941.

"Big deal," some cynics may say. Major League hitters are paid to hit anyway, right? Why is the thought of DiMaggio essentially "doing his job" so greatly magnified?

Here's why. Hitters are still human. Hitters still go through major league slumps. Hitters still get into their own heads about the swings they've spent their entire lives perfecting. Hitters still have to perform the job they've been handsomely paid to do, against Major League pitchers who are being paid just as much to do their essential job, which is to get these Major League hitters out with ease. In a game where every single at-bat is determined in mere milliseconds, if the slightest of timing is set off-kilter, the whole plan to hit is foiled in the blink of an eye. There's a reason even the best of hitters, even those enshrined in the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame beside DiMaggio, couldn't accomplish what he accomplished. This game is based on failure and coping with your failures. Those who learn to cope with the failures the best, and fail the least during their careers, are rewarded with a plaque in Cooperstown. Hall of Famer Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox (who, ironically, saw himself finish second in the Most Valuable Player voting to DiMaggio in 1941, despite recording the last official season batting over .400) summed up the game of baseball with one succinct quote: "Baseball is the only field of endeavor where a man can succeed three times out of ten and be considered a good performer."

Anyway, now that we've established most all other factors that attribute to maintaining a reputation as a solid, and at time freakishly consistent Major League hitter, let's highlight some of the valiant efforts of the hitters who did their best to chase this record in the last 75 seasons of baseball:

Let's start with Joe DiMaggio's brother, Dom, who tried to repeat the feat for the rival Red Sox just eight years later in 1949. Dom's streak reached 34 games, nearly coming a month's worth short in terms of games played from catching his brother. Joe still reigns supreme at family dinners.

In 1978, DiMaggio nearly had company atop the hitting streak leaderboard when all-time hit king Pete Rose challenged the record. While playing for the Cincinnati Reds, Rose amassed a streak of 44 games, but even the man who tops the charts with 4,256 career hits could not rack 'em up consistently enough to reach the Yankee Clipper's level. While receiving a scare, DiMaggio could still sleep free and easy.

Nine years after Rose in 1987, Milwaukee Brewer utilityman, Paul Molitor, ran his attempt to nearly 40 consecutive games, but was stalled short at 39 after the weirdest of endings in hitting streak history. During a home game, Molitor was stuck at zero hits on the day heading into the 10th inning of an extra inning affair with the Cleveland Indians. With Molitor looming on deck, and the winning run sitting at second base with one out, Molitor's teammate Rick Manning singled to center to bring in the winning run, leaving Paul on deck, leading to the only time that a Brewer (Manning) was booed after a Milwaukee walk-off win.

Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins vied for his chance at the title from 2005-06, in an odd instance where his hitting streak from the previous year carried over into the next season. But even with five months bunched in between to mentally prepare himself to attack the record again, Rollins was unsuccessful.

And as recently as yesterday, a pair of Boston Red Sox budding superstars made their respective runs at history. Both Jackie Bradley Jr. and Xander Bogaerts had streaks that overlapped each other and at times were actually growing at the same time as games went by. Bradley's was the first to fall, however, after an 0-for-4 showing against the Colorado Rockies, and days later, Bogaerts was blanked at the plate by the viral Toronto Blue Jay's pitching staff. While these streaks were fun to follow along with as days flew by, the two streaks COMBINED would still fall a game short of tying the record (55; Bradley Jr. - 29 and Bogaerts - 26).

There's a reason they call this one of baseball's most unlikely records to break. There's a great chance this record may stand the test of competitive time. So many things have to go right for such a long stretch of time. Bloop singles have to fall at just the right times, and running into a team's ace pitcher on a primetime Saturday night leads to thorns in the sides of hitters everywhere. The pressure of media attention leaves hitters losing sleep at night when they've only achieved 20 consecutive games with a hit, and they've still got nearly two months of insanity ahead of them. To say this is a tall task is one of the biggest understatements in sports history.

However, as we take one last look back, let's not make this record out to be one big headache. There's more to this record than daily failure. Sometimes, baseball receives a bad rap for that exact reason. Some players are not given the due they deserve because of the negatives that come with the game. Let's end with a celebration of Joe DiMaggio and a celebration of one of the great sports accomplishments that has truly lasted the test of grueling, grueling time. Here's to you, Joe. Keep on hitting up there in heaven, buddy. If anyone can challenge God's all-time hitting streak, it's you.