Updating 10 MLB Records That Can Be Broken in 2013
Don't spend too much time committing current MLB records to memory. From now through the end of 2013, there could be a handful of new teams and individuals rewriting history.
Career and single-season marks set by Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth, Nolan Ryan and Cy Young seem to be completely safe. While it's technically possible for several players to beat Joe DiMaggio's famous hitting streak or for the Houston Astros to lose more games than any previous team, the odds are ridiculously slim.
If you're going to generously spend a few moments skimming this article, it ought to be filled with records that are both intriguing and attainable. We found 10 of them that fit that criteria.
*All stats updated through the games as of Aug. 10.
Most MLB Strikeouts in a Season
1 of 10MLB Record: 36,426 (2012)
Who Can Break It: 2013 MLB players (26,084 in 1,737 games)
There was a dramatic increase in strikeouts across the league from 2011 to 2012. If this year's competition actually does establish a new record, it figures to be by a much slimmer margin.
With 71.48 percent of games played, baseball has totaled 71.61 percent of the 2012 total.
The innings limits being applied to Jose Fernandez and other electric young arms will make this pursuit more difficult. We might have also seen more whiffing if struggling batters like Aaron Hicks and Will Middlebrooks hadn't been demoted to the minors.
On the other hand, as injuries pile up down the stretch, underqualified reserves get thrust into action.
Most MLB Pitchers in a Season Ages 25 and Younger
2 of 10MLB Record: 220* (2007)
Who Can Break It: 2013 MLB pitchers (178* in 1,722 games)
The expansion of major league rosters and the league itself make this possible, but the advances in pitcher instruction have clearly contributed too. Prospects generally don't need as much time as they previously did to realize their potential and ascend to the highest level.
So many brilliant young pitchers have been excelling this summer: Matt Harvey, Clayton Kershaw, Chris Sale, Craig Kimbrel, Jose Fernandez, Stephen Strasburg, Patrick Corbin, Julio Teheran, Chris Archer and the list goes on and on.
Expect more names to be added next month as teams get a look at their futures on the mound.
*Pitchers who were 25 or younger as of June 30 of that season.
Highest Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio for a Pitching Staff
3 of 10Current Record: 3.39 (Philadelphia Phillies, 2012)
Who Can Break It: Detroit Tigers (3.23 in 115 games)
A full season of Anibal Sanchez and the use of Drew Smyly in relief have contributed to such dominance. Of course, the emergence of Max Scherzer—more on him later—has helped Detroit's strikeout-to-walk ratio even more.
Shockingly, Justin Verlander, arguably the most reputable pitcher in the sport, owns the weakest ratio among all starters, his personal worst since 2008. Expect him to improve down the stretch and help the Tigers reduce their deficit to last year's Phillies.
This team now has a commanding lead in the AL Central, which may convince manager Jim Leyland to rest some of his stars this September. That could mean more action for Jose Alvarez, who boasts a 4.65 strikeout-to-walk ratio at Triple-A in 2013.
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Most Defensive Runs Saved in a Season
4 of 10MLB Record: 34 DRS (Adam Everett, 2006)
Who Can Break It: Andrelton Simmons (33 DRS in 113 games)
Defensive Runs Saved only dates back to 2003, so no, we're not declaring Everett's 2006 the best defensive campaign of all time. It's also true that fielding ability cannot be wholly summarized by a single statistic.
However, sitting through just one Atlanta Braves game will convince you that Simmons is something special at shortstop.
He has the full toolbox: range, coordination, arm strength—even from his butt—and a quick release (all clips via MLB.com).
From this point forward, this budding star needs only to perform slightly above average at his position to set a new record.
Most Career Seasons with at Least 45 Saves
5 of 10MLB Record: Three (Dennis Eckersley, Eric Gagne, Mariano Rivera and Francisco Rodriguez)
Who Can Break It: Rivera (35 SV in 114 team games)
Prior to the 2013 All-Star break, Mo had already racked up 30 saves.
Unfortunately, the acquisition of Alfonso Soriano and returns of Curtis Granderson and Alex Rodriguez haven't impacted the offense as expected. With the New York Yankees taking fewer leads, Rivera doesn't get many ninth-inning appearances.
Also, the future Hall of Famer hasn't exactly been automatic when trusted to shut the door on an opponent. Rivera blew back-to-back save opportunities against the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers earlier this month.
With barely seven weeks to go, he needs to get another 10 saves.
That's doable, even with a sputtering lineup and a somewhat inconsistent cutter. Rivera is going to retire after the season, so the New York Yankees will not hesitate to use his right arm.
Most Times Grounding into a Double Play in a Season
6 of 10MLB Record: 36 GIDP (Jim Rice, 1984)
Who Can Break It: Matt Holliday (25 GIDP in 100 games)
The 33-year-old Holliday is gradually declining, but he's still producing enough to merit placement in the heart of an imposing St. Louis Cardinals lineup. Per Baseball-Reference.com, Holliday has been striking out less often than usual this season, and his ground-ball-to-fly-ball ratio nearly matches his career high (set in 2004).
With Yadier Molina injured, he occupies the clean-up spot, directly behind Allen Craig. The first baseman ranks among the MLB leaders in singles and lacks the speed to break up double plays.
A playoff berth is far from guaranteed for the Cardinals, who have dropped three of their past four series. Moreover, Molina's absence is already negatively impacting the pitching staff.
The upshot is that Holliday should get ample chances at the plate down the stretch, so don't be surprised if he hits into even more twin killings.
Most Infielders for a Team in a Season
7 of 10MLB Record: 23 (Philadelphia Athletics, 1915)
Who Can Break It: New York Yankees (19 in 114 games)
Here's the complete list of 2013 Yankees to spend time as infielders:
| David Adams | 1B, 2B, 3B |
| Reid Brignac | SS |
| Robinson Cano | 2B, SS |
| Francisco Cervelli | 2B |
| Luis Cruz | 3B, SS |
| Alberto Gonzalez | 3B, SS |
| Travis Ishikawa | 1B |
| Derek Jeter | SS |
| Corban Joseph | 1B, 2B |
| Brent Lillibridge | 1B, 3B |
| Chris Nelson | 3B |
| Jayson Nix | 2B, 3B, SS |
| Eduardo Nunez | 3B, SS |
| Lyle Overbay | 1B |
| Alex Rodriguez | 3B |
| Mark Teixeira | 1B |
| Vernon Wells | 1B, 2B, 3B |
| Kevin Youkilis | 1B, 3B |
New York's scramble for third base production has received most of the attention, but notice how much turnover has taken place at the other positions too. It's even been a challenge for general manager Brian Cashman to find a suitable reserve second baseman behind Cano!
There are oft-injured superstars, fading regulars, career utility guys and Yankee prospects comprising this group of 19.
In an act of desperation, perhaps the team will trade for a veteran infielder like Michael Young before the end of the month. Also consider the outside chance that Travis Hafner sees a few innings at first base upon returning from the disabled list or that Alfonso Soriano reacquaints himself with second base after nearly a decade in the outfield.
Once rosters expand in September, the Yankees could call up more new bodies from their farm system.
Highest Season Batting Average for a Qualified Starting Pitcher
8 of 10MLB Record: .433 (Walter Johnson, 1925)
Who Can Break It: Zack Greinke (.385 in 117.2 IP)
Greinke's legitimate pursuit of this record should not come as a huge shock.
In limited plate appearances during his first nine MLB seasons, the right-hander owned a decent .170/.191/.302 batting line with eight of his 18 hits going for extra bases. Another encouraging sign was his surprisingly acceptable strikeout rate (only 23 K in 123 PA).
This summer, Greinke is settling for more singles, but he's having an extremely positive impact with the bat, nonetheless.
Missing time with a broken collarbone earlier in 2013—thanks, Carlos Quentin—means that he'll need to make most of his scheduled starts down the stretch to become a qualified starter. The minimum requirement is one inning pitched per team game, which means Greinke finished Saturday still 45 innings short.
Largest Guaranteed Contract for a Pitcher
9 of 10MLB Record: $180 million (Justin Verlander, 2013)
Who Can Break It: Clayton Kershaw
The largest pitcher contracts in baseball history have been given to Felix Hernandez ($175 million), CC Sabathia ($161 million) and Justin Verlander. Prior to signing, they had all won Cy Young Awards and established themselves as durable control artists with great strikeout potential.
Kershaw doesn't yet have as much major league service time as any of them had prior to cashing in, but that fact probably works to his advantage—it suggests his inevitable dip in velocity is still distant.
Any stat you'll see affirms that Kershaw has been one of the best performers of his generation (and even one of the best ever).
His 144 ERA+, for example, which adjusts for a player's ballpark and era, ranks 10th all time and second only to Lefty Grove among left-handers, according to Baseball-Reference.com (min. 1,000 innings). The 25-year-old is also on track to lead the National League in plain old earned run average for a third consecutive season. And he has annually cracked the NL top five in strikeouts since 2010.
In June, Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported that Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers were making progress on an extension that "will be above" what Verlander received. His performance hasn't tapered off at all since then, and his approaching free agency eligibility, combined with L.A.'s resources, should push the total amount to at least $200 million.
The only question is whether an agreement gets finalized this summer or sometime closer to spring training.
Highest Winning Percentage for a Pitcher
10 of 10MLB Record: .947 (Roy Face, 1959)
Who Can Break It: Max Scherzer (.944 through 23 starts)
Baseball-Reference.com only considers winning percentage qualifiers to be pitchers with at least one decision for every 10 team games. That's to eliminate relievers and late-season call-ups from the leaderboard, as well as those who missed significant time due to injury, like Clay Buchholz.
Scherzer improved his win-loss record to 17-1 with an easy victory on Thursday night. Considering that the Detroit Tigers will only play 162 games this season, he could take the rest of August and September off and settle for the second-best percentage ever.
Of course, that isn't going to happen. With a 2.84 ERA and 0.90 WHIP in 158.1 IP, the right-hander has been integral to Detroit's success. Rest assured, he'll be taking the mound every fifth day, knowing full well that just one more loss dooms him to finish behind Face.
Run support is going to determine whether or not Scherzer makes history. Per FanGraphs, he has received far and away the most help of anybody in baseball.
With Miguel Cabrera back in the everyday lineup and Victor Martinez clearly in pre-injury form, the Tigers' bats seldom have a quiet day. And Scherzer isn't even asking much of them, as he has limited the opposition to four runs or fewer in 15 straight outings.
A final record of 19-1 or better would elevate him to the No. 1 spot.
Follow Ely as he attempts to break Twitter records!
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