MLB Power Rankings: The 10 Oddest Records Least Likely to Be Broken
Baseball has always been a sport of measurements, milestones and statistics. In no other sport are each player’s every play analyzed as deeply and intensely as in baseball.
In more modern times, even more stats have been developed that require a PhD to even figure out what they are and what they represent.
There are definitely records in baseball that would appear to be unlikely to ever be broken, such as the 511 victories by Cy Young, Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak and Nolan Ryan’s all-time strikeout record (5,714).
There are also some records out there that the ballplayers who currently hold them would absolutely love to see broken.
While these landmark achievements are in the record books, they are not what you would consider records that are memorable.
Here is a list of the top 10 strangest records in baseball that are least likely to be broken, although the players who hold some of the records would love if someone did.
Doug Mead is a featured columnist with Bleacher Report. His work has been featured on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, SF Gate, CBS Sports, the Los Angeles Times and the Houston Chronicle. Follow Doug on Twitter, @Sports_A_Holic.
10. Slim Sallee: 1919
1 of 10
In 1919, Slim “Scatter” Sallee was entering his 12th season in the major leagues with the Cincinnati Reds. By the time he ended the season, Sallee had put up his best numbers ever, finishing with a record of 21-7.
However, although Sallee had an outstanding season, he set a rather strange record. Sallee struck out the least amount of batters ever (24) for any pitcher who recorded 20 wins in a season.
More recently, Tommy John struck out only 78 batters when he won 22 games in 1980.
9. Luke Appling: 1936
2 of 10
Luke Appling spent his entire 20-season career with the Chicago White Sox, and was one of the outstanding shortstops of his era, compiling a lifetime average of .310, being inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1964.
Appling also holds a rather unusual record. In 1936, Appling compiled 128 runs batted in with just six home runs, giving him the most RBIs in one season while hitting under 10 home runs.
Second baseman Tom Herr of the St. Louis Cardinals came close in 1985, driving in 110 runs while hitting just eight home runs.
8. Joe Bush: 1922
3 of 10
"Bullet" Joe Bush was a pitcher who plied his trade with seven different teams in a 17-year career from 1912-1928.
In 1922, Bush had his best season by far for the New York Yankees, with a 3.31 ERA to go with 26 wins.
The odd part about the 26 wins was that none of them were by shutout! Included in the 26 wins were 20 complete games, and not one of them by shutout.
This marks the record for most wins in one season without recording a shutout.
More recently, Ron Bryant had 24 wins for the San Francisco Giants in 1973 without registering a shutout.
.png?w=256)
7. Jack Morris: 1989
4 of 10
In 1989, the Detroit Tigers were pretty woeful, compiling a record of 59-103. The ace of the pitching staff, Jack Morris, endured one of the worst seasons of his career, finishing the season with only six wins against 14 losses.
Morris is the last person in the majors to have more complete games (10) than victories (six).
Considering the fact that pitchers throwing complete games have dropped dramatically, there’s a pretty good chance that Morris may be stuck with this record for a while.
6. Branch Rickey: 1907
5 of 10
Before Brooklyn Dodgers president Branch Rickey started his innovative ways as a baseball executive, breaking baseball’s color barrier by signing Jackie Robinson to a contract, he was a catcher for the St. Louis Browns.
Rickey’s playing career was not very successful, hitting just .233 as a catcher in three seasons with the St. Louis Browns and New York Highlanders.
One particular record is one that Rickey certainly can’t be proud of. In 1907, while playing for the Highlanders, Rickey allowed 13 base-runners to steal against him in one game, a record that still stands over 100 years later.
5. Ed Walsh: 1910
6 of 10
In the early 1900s, Ed Walsh was an outstanding pitcher, pitching for the Chicago White Sox for 13 of his 14 seasons in the majors, once winning 40 games in 1908.
However, just two years later, Walsh lost 20 games, but he did it while posting a minuscule 1.27 ERA.
Walsh holds the record for the lowest ERA while recording 20 losses.
Orel Hershiser holds the modern record, registering a 2.31 ERA with 15 losses in 1989 with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
4. Steve Carlton: 1972
7 of 10
Steve Carlton was a Hall of Fame pitcher who pitched for some pretty poor Philadelphia Phillies teams during his 15 seasons there. In 1972, however, Carlton pulled off a pretty remarkable feat.
The Phillies were 59-97 that season, finishing last in the National League in several offensive categories.
However, Carlton still won 27 games with a 1.97 ERA, winning the Cy Young award and the pitcher’s Triple Crown (wins, ERA, strikeouts).
Carlton holds the dubious honor of most victories on a team with at least 95 losses. Carlton personally accounted for 46 percent of his team’s wins.
3. Nolan Ryan: 1976
8 of 10
Nolan Ryan holds several pitching records, including most career strikeouts (5,714), most no-hitters (seven) and the most walks allowed (2,795).
However, in 1976, Ryan pulled off a feat that may never be touched. Ryan that year led the league in losses (18) and shutouts (seven), becoming the last pitcher in the majors to accomplish that feat.
2. Rob Deer: 1991
9 of 10
During the 11-year career of Rob Deer, he was known for his mammoth home-run shots, but he was also known for his big-time whiffs as well, leading the league in that category four times.
Deer, on three occasions, had 100 more strikeouts than runs batted in, last pulling off the dubious feat in 1993 (55 RBI, 169 strikeouts).
In 1991, Deer hit the jackpot. He became the first player to have over 100 more strikeouts than RBI, set a record with 95 more strikeouts than hits, set an RBI record for a player hitting under .200, set a record for lowest average by a player who hit 20 homers and set the record for lowest average by a player with 400 or more at-bats, at .179.
1. Bill Bergen: 1901-1911
10 of 10
This absolutely has to be the record for futility. In 1909, Bergen set a record for the longest hitless streak for a non-pitcher, going 0-for-46.
However, incredibly, Bergen played for 11 seasons in the majors with the Brooklyn Dodgers and Cincinnati, and had only one year in which he hit above .200.
He has the lowest career batting average for anyone with over 3,000 lifetime at-bats.
Pretty amazing he even stuck around that long.
.png?w=480)
