July 7-8, 2002 – Dom DiMaggio was the youngest and, at 5-foot-9 and 170 pounds, the smallest of three brothers to make it to the major leagues. Vince, the oldest, was a two-time All-Star in his ten-year career, and Joe was a Hall of Famer widely considered the greatest all-around player of his era. Of the more than 350 brother combinations that have played Major League Baseball, few if any have equaled the combined achievements of these three sons of Sicilian immigrants.

Like his brothers, Dom, who spent his entire career (1940–42, 1946–53) with the Boston Red Sox, was an outstanding outfielder. He led the American League in outfield assists three times, and his 503 putouts in 1948 stood as the AL record until 1977. He also compiled a lifetime average of .298, primarily as a leadoff hitter, was often among the league leaders in runs scored, walks, hits, and doubles, and still holds the Red Sox record for hitting in consecutive games: 34 in 1949. Known as “The Little Professor”—he was one of the few players at the time to wear glasses on the field—he was beloved by Sox fans. In 1995 he was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame.

For all he achieved, his career has always been overshadowed by the towering figures of two contemporaries: his brother Joe and his Red Sox teammate, Ted Williams. Nevertheless, one measure of his ability is that, at a time when his brother and Williams were virtual locks to start in the All-Star Game, in his ten full years Dom was a seven-time All-Star and was in the starting lineup three times. In a 2006 interview with this writer, Red Sox shortstop Johnny Pesky said of his teammate, “Dominic never made a mistake. He was the perfect ballplayer and had one of the brightest minds in baseball.”