He started baseball’s famous streak / That’s got us all aglow / He’s just a man and not a freak / Joltin’ Miguel Cabrera?

For 66 years, no baseball player has come within 12 games of matching the Yankee Clipper’s incredible hitting streak. For any modern player to approach DiMaggio, he must possess all of Joltin’ Joe’s greatest assets as a hitter.

He must be selective enough to choose the proper pitch to hit, but not over-selective to the point of drawing too many walks. Ted Williams, the most selective hitter of all time, never hit in more than 23 straight games. The candidate also cannot be a free swinger who takes cuts at poor pitches (sorry Vladimir Guerrero and Ichiro).

He must be able to run like the wind and beat out infield hits. Every so often, a tough pitcher comes along and forces a batter to make less than solid contact. In these cases, his legs must save the streak (fuhgedaboudit David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez).

He must be pitched to on a consistent basis. Some hitters are so feared (Albert Pujols, Ryan Howard, Barry Bonds) that they may never get the chance to see a hittable pitch in some games.

He must focus on making solid contact and not exclusively on the home run ball. Although Joe D. was a slugger, he was a line-drive hitter first and foremost. Therefore, guys like Alex Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield and Andruw Jones, who preoccupy themselves with hitting the long ball, are eliminated from the discussion.

So who makes the cut? Here are four players, in order of personal preference, who can make a serious run at one of sports’ most heralded records.

Miguel Cabrera, Florida Marlins: This guy is the Albert Pujols nobody knows about. Cabrera is among the most feared hitters in the game, but since he plays in Florida only fantasy geeks and baseball junkies are really aware of how good he is. The Marlins’ third baseman hit over .320 the past two seasons, hitting the ball to all fields, and has improved his batting eye to the point where he drew 86 walks in 2006. Last year, Cabrera posted almost twice the number of doubles (50) as home runs (26), proving that he is first and foremost a line-drive hitter, and playing in gap-heavy Dolphin Stadium helps. Although he only stole nine bases in 2006, he is fast and can kick it up a few gears when need be.

Longest hitting streak: 13 games (July 18 to Aug. 1, 2005)

Derek Jeter, New York Yankees: Jeter is the obvious pick to lead most lists, but he is below Cabrera in my eyes. However, it would be appropriate for a Yankee record to be broken by another Yankee, and who better to do it than the Captain? Jeter runs out every ground ball and swings so well to the opposite field that a single to right field is now a ‘Jeterian hit.’ He knows the strike zone like the back of his hand and can pick out exactly the pitch he wants to drive or slice in almost any at-bat. His base-stealing skills and Bobby Abreu provide more than adequate lineup protection. Plus, he can handle the media pressure pretty easily, having faced it every day throughout his career in the Bronx Zoo.

Longest hitting streak: 25 games (Aug. 20 to Sept. 16, 2006)

Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies: Mets fans know about Utley (because he kills them), but he remains one of the best-kept secrets in baseball. Overshadowed by NL MVP Ryan Howard and big-mouthed shortstop Jimmy Rollins, Utley is the most consistent performer on a team stacked with offensive talent. Rollins’ 38-game streak spanning two seasons came out of nowhere, and while few are expecting J-Roll to do it again, Utley put together a 35-gamer of his own and his plate discipline and speed seem to get better every day. Having Ryan Howard bat right behind you doesn’t hurt either.

Longest hitting streak: 35 games (June 23 to Aug. 3, 2006)

Jose Reyes, New York Mets: Initially, I laughed at the thought of putting New York’s second shortstop on this list (yes, Mets fans, Jeter’s better). At least once a game, Reyes always seems to take a clueless approach at the dish. When Reyes cleans that up, he has just as good a shot as Cabrera, Jeter or anyone else to make a run at DiMaggio. Reyes is lightning on the bases and hit .300 in 2006 as a switch-hitter, so even tough lefty pitchers don’t slow him down. Willie Randolph is forcing his franchise player to focus more on hitting the ball hard instead of hitting it out, and for those who think he’s an undisciplined free swinger, he struck out only 81 times last year ‘ fewer than Utley (132), Cabrera (108) or Jeter (102).

Longest hitting streak: 20 games (July 17 to Aug. 7, 2005)