I find this article in the Times fascinating. Using a statistical approach, they determined that hitting streaks like Joe Dimaggio's 1941, 56 game one should be commonplace - even longer ones. However, the fact of the matter is, they aren't. Why is that? I'd guess the pshychology of it. I ran track in high school and college, and what the stats guys miss is this: your mental state plays heavily into individual performances.

In the case of something like a hitting streak, the pressure builds as the numbers mount. I can't pretend to know what that's like, but I can tell you this: I'm a duffer when it comes to golf. I've had rounds where I've been hitting really well for 3, 4, 5, maybe 6 holes - and then I start over-thinking stuff, and mess up shots. Sure, professionals are better at coping with that sort of thing than I am, but still - in the case of something like a hitting streak (especially after 1941), the mental pressure has got to be enormous.

So bottom line, such hitting streaks are theoretically common. The reality is very different, because the statistics miss the psychological aspect of the game.

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