I'm sure there have been many articles written over the years about the best baseball achievements and what can or can't be broken. But as I sit here, looking at my autographed picture of Pete Rose, I'm reminded at just how great he was.
So how do you measure what constitutes the best records of all time?
The obvious choice would be that a career statistic is more impressive than a single-season one, and that some sports are regarded as more superior than others.
So without further adieu, here's my list of top sports records broken down by career and season.
1. Cal Ripken's streak of 2,632 straight games played
For anyone to actually challenge this record, they would have to play every game for nearly 17 seasons to break it. With the length of each season, and length of each postseason, the wear and tear on a player's body would eventually catch up with him.
2. Pete Rose's 4,256 career hits
Everyone thought Ty Cobb's hit total was unbreakable, but Rose passed it and added a few more to the total. If you averaged 200 hits for 20 years, that gets you to 4,000, then you are still 256 behind the record. Maybe if you play long enough, you can come close, but that's your only hope.
3. Cy Young's 511 wins
This doesn't deserve the top spot because he played in an era where you pitched every other day, and you pitched the entire game. Just as remarkable, Young also had 749 complete games. So, with set-up men and closers, there is no way anyone will win 500 games.
One small note on the number of complete games, only two pitchers have even started more than 749 games, Nolan Ryan 773 and Don Sutton 756.
4. Nolan Ryan's 5,714 career strikeouts
Ryan was an amazing story. He's one of the few hard throwers to pitch in his 40s. Currently, he's nearly 1,100 ahead of second place Randy Johnson, who's 44-years old. I think it's safe to say no one will catch this record in the next 1,000 years...if baseball survives that long.
5. Ty Cobb's .366 lifetime batting average
Even though Cobb retired in 1928, well before the era of offense, he's stood the test of time. One of his records was broken, but I don't see anyone ever reaching this, even with the steroids and other PEDs.
It's hard to include all the best career marks so here's my honorable mentions:
Nolan Ryan's seven no-hitters, Walter Johnson's 110 career shutouts, Hank Aaron's 6,856 total bases, Babe Ruth's .690 percent career slugging percentage, Rickey Henderson's 1,406 career steals, and Pete Rose's 3,215 career singles.
1. Joe DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak
The streak began on May 15, 1941 and ended on July 17. The next closest streak is Willie Keeler and Pete Rose at 44 games, and he had 22 multi-hit games, 15 HR, and 55 RBI. What is incredible is when the streak ended, he hit safely in the next 16 games.
2. Mike Marshall's 106 games and 208.1 relief innings in 1974
In the set-up and closer age, there is no one that could come close to this record. Only one other pitcher has approached the number of relief innings, Bob Stanley had 168.1 in 1978. The amazing part is that this was accomplished a short time ago, and as workloads are less and less, this stat will hold up.
3. Carl Hubbell's 24 straight regular-season wins
He accomplished this over a two-season span from July 17, 1936-May 27, 1937, which may be tougher to do. Forget the fact that he lost Game Four of the 1936 World Series, he won 24 straight games.
4. Eric Gagne's 84 consecutive saves
Gagne saved 84 straight from August 28, 2002-July 3, 2004, and while it didn't take place over one season, it's still an amazing stat. The next closest is 54, by Tom Gordon. Several closers have put together remarkable seasons, but 84 straight will be tough to challenge.
5. Johnny Vander Meer's two consecutive no-hitters
In 1938, Vander Meer had two no-hitters in consecutive starts on July 11 and 15 and is of course the only player to do so. It's hard enough to throw one no-no, take Nolan Ryan out of the conversation, much less back-to-back.
Honorable mention: Rickey Henderson's 130 steals, Ed Reulbach's two shut-outs in one day, Ichiro Suzuki's 225 singles, Billy Hamilton's 192 runs scored, Owen "Chief" Wilson's 36 triples, Charlie "Old Hoss" Radbourn's 59 wins, Barry Bonds' .609 percent on-base percentage, Bonds' 120 intentional walks, and Hack Wilson's 190 RBI.
I'm sure there are other impressive stats you feel belong.
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3 months ago
Awesome article. I thought one of Bonds' records should have made the list. 73 home runs is going to be pretty tough to beat, and so are the walks and on-base.
3 months ago
Brett,
I agree with you about Bonds. I made him an (dis)honorable mention because of the possible use of steroids. But I do think eventually someone will get hot and challenge this record...it may not be in my lifetime but I think someone will come along that will.
Thanks.
3 months ago
Loved this article. Going back to Johnny Vander Meer and Carl Hubbell...those are guys that I grew up reading about.
One other to consider. Orel Hershiser's consecutive scoreless innings mark.
3 months ago
Joe,
You're right I forgot about that one...that was really impressive. It would take a pitcher 6.5 starts of no runs just to equal that feat.
3 months ago
I've seen a lot of sports records articles in past years, but this one was the most in-depth. Good one.
3 months ago
What about The Hershiser 59?
If a pitcher beats that, I will personally give $10,000 to his charity of choice.
from 3 months ago
Lance you are so right...that is one I did forget. I can't see that broken in our lifetime, not with the pitching and hitting these days.
It would take someone 6.5 starts of no runs just to equal that.
3 months ago
Ok, I can sort of see throwing out Cy Young, simply because he did pitch eleven years before the creation of the American League, so how about including Walter Johnson's 417 wins in his career? For the most part, the Senators had a four man pitching rotation throughout his career, in fact, the most starts Johnson had in one season was 42 (1910) and he only had one more season where he started 40 (1914). Now, he did appear in 136 relief appearances throughout his career, which I know it's hard to account how many decisions he registered in those relief appearances, but still.... if you are going to put an asterisk of sorts on Cy Young because it was a different game back pre-20th century (and I would not argue that), then give the reigning impossible wins to Walter Johnson.
In order for a pitcher to pass Johnson, that pitcher would need to register 20 wins for 20 years plus another 18 win season.
3 months ago
Sean,
I agree with you completely. It's hard to talk about records when a lot of these players played so long ago.
Johnson was an amazing pitcher and no one will even win 400 games much less 417. For that matter I don't see anyone even winning 350 games for a while.
about 1 month ago
Great info! It sure seems hard to beat Ripken's, Ryan's, or Young's records - close to impossible. If a pitcher wins 25 games a year for 20 years that's only 500 and still not enough. Since pitching has changed so much with set up men, closers, and a 5 man rotation, why isn't this the most unbreakable record?
from about 1 month ago
Cy,
I agree with you that no one will ever win 400 games much less 500 but I left it off because he did pitch 11 years before the American League was even created.
I do however think it's worth mentioning...sorry I should have done that.
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