77 MLB Records That Will Never Be Broken
With the ongoing 70th anniversary of Joe DiMaggio's famous 56-game hitting streak, many have called it baseball's most unbreakable record. While it may not be baseball's most unbreakable record, it is certainly one of many. With the ways the game has changed, many records will never be matched again.
I want to include a few clarifications:
1) I did not include anyone who used steroids for any "positive records." If someone broke an undesirable record while using steroids, I counted it anyway. The player most affected by this is Barry Bonds.
2) There are a couple records I did not include that are commonly thought to be unbreakable. They are
a) Single Season RBI - I think that while unlikely, this is breakable. Get a great on base guy and put him in front an Albert Pujols and you've got a chance. I think Adrian Gonzalez could make a run at this next year.
b) Single Season HR - I did not include this considering the record to be 61. If you consider the record to be 73, then it is unbreakable.
Most pictures courtesy of Getty Images or Wikimedia.
Single Season Batting Average
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Record: Hugh Duffy, .440 in 1894
Modern day record: Nap Lajoie, .426 in 1901 (still unbreakable)
Closest since 2000: Nomar Garciaparra and Todd Helton, .372 in 2000
It is well known that the last person to hit .400 in a season, Ted Williams, did it in 1941. No one has gotten within 50 points in the last 10 years, and there is no reason to believe this trend will change. With tougher pitching, scouting reports and more pitching changes, more and more is stopping a hitter from being as dominant as before.
Single Season On Base Percentage
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Record: Ted Williams, .553 in 1941
Closest since 2000: Chipper Jones .470 in 2008
This record will not be broken for very similar reasons as batting average. Tougher pitching, scouting reports and increased pitching changes have made it tougher for a hitter to be dominant.
Single Season Slugging Percentage
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Record: Babe Ruth, .847 in 1920
Closest since 2000: Todd Helton .698 in 2000
In 1920, Babe Ruth managed to hit for a .847 SLG while leading the league in almost every offensive category. No one has even broken .700 since 2000. Better pitching, increased pitching changes and the fact that there will never be another Babe, as well as better fielding, all contribute to making this record unbreakable.
Single Season OPS
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Record: Babe Ruth, 1.379 in 1920
Closest since 2000: Todd Helton, 1.162 in 2000
The same year Ruth broke the single season SLG record, he missed the OBP record by 21 points, giving him the OPS record. No one will match either the SLG or the OBP he posted that year, so they certainly won't get both.
Single Season Runs Scored
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Record: Billy Hamilton, 198 in 1894
Modern day record: Babe Ruth, 177 in 1921 (Could be broken, but very unlikely)
Closest since 2000: Jeff Bagwell, 152, 2000
In 1894, Billy Hamilton managed to score an amazing 198 runs. That's like scoring 11 runs over nine games. There is no way someone (along with people batting behind them) can stay that hot all year.
Single Season Triples
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Record: Chief Wilson, 36 in 1912
Closest since 2000: Curtis Granderson, 23 in 2007
In 1912, Chief Wilson legged out 36 triples. With triples in a steady decline throughout major league baseball (with a possible jump following the steroid era), triples are now a thing of the past.
Single Season Times on Base
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Record: Babe Ruth, 379 in 1923
Closest since 2000: Carlos Delgado, 334 in 2000
To do this, Babe had to get on base 54.5 percent of the time. He beat 200 hits and drew 170 walks. With the steroid era gone, no one will be feared enough to draw that many walks and still get over 200 hits.
Single Season Hit by Pitch
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Record: Hughie Jennings, 51 in 1896
Modern day record: Ron Hunt, 50 in 1971 (still unbreakable)
Closest since 2000: Craig Wilson, 30 in 2004
Pitchers don't hit as many batters anymore. They simply have more control nowadays, and umpires now eject pitchers if they hit a batter and it appears intentional.
Single Season Sacrifice Hits
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Record: Ray Chapman, 67 in 1917
Closest since 2000: Royce Clayton, 24 in 2004
With the introduction of the DH, along with sabermetricians like Bill James questioning the usefulness of the sacrifice bunt, many players don't even attempt that many sacrifices in a year. No one under 30 has even beat that mark in their career.
Single Season At Bats per Strikeout
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Record: Willie Keeler, 285.00 in 1899
Modern day record: Joe Sewell, 167.67 in 1932 (still unbreakable)
Closest since 2000: Juan Pierre 21.3 in 2001
Pitchers now throw harder with more break and aren't expected to last as long. With more blow you away stuff coming their way, batters don't have a chance.
Single Season Inside the Park Home Runs
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Record: Sam Crawford, 12 in 1901
Unfortunately, I was unable to find the closest someone has gotten since 2000, but I did find this little tidbit: Since 1950, only one person has topped 12 inside the park home runs in their career. With more cookie-cutter ballparks creating less crazy hops, the increased resiliency of the baseball, allowing them to travel for outside the park home runs more, and better fielding, inside the park home runs are now cause for a feast.
All Time Batting Average
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Record: Ty Cobb, .367
Closest active player: Ichiro, .330
Closest under 30: Joe Mauer, .326
Since 2000, only two people have been able to beat Cobb's mark in a single season. The game is more balanced these days, as more extensive scouting brings all the great talent to the US. Before, only a few great talents made it to the majors and were able to dominate their era.
All Time On Base Percentage
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Record: Ted Williams, .482
Closest active player: Albert Pujols, .423
Closest under 30: Joe Mauer, .406
There will never be a pure hitter like Teddy Ballgame. No one knew hitting like Ted Williams, and no one will be able to even come close to his mark. Had he not missed three prime seasons as well as most of two others to WWII and the Korean War, he may have even hit .490.
All Time Slugging Percentage
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Record: Babe Ruth, .690
Closest active player: Albert Pujols, .619
Closest under 30: Miguel Cabrera, .551
Besides Pujols, no one is within 120 points of Ruth. Babe enjoyed a dominance that will never be replicated.
All Time OPS
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Record: Babe Ruth, 1.164
Closest active player: Albert Pujols, 1.042
Closest under 30: Miguel Cabrera, .941
Everyone within 300 points of Ruth are 27 or older and will almost certainly see their numbers start to slip within two or three years as they age.
All Time Games Played
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Record: Pete Rose, 3562
Closest active player: Omar Vizquel, 2,850
Closest under 30: Miguel Cabrera, 1,190
To play in that many games, someone would have to play every day for almost 22 years. Pete Rose, although not the most talented, tried harder than everyone else, and was able to stay in the majors for a very long time.
All Time At Bats
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Record: Pete Rose, 14,053
Closest active player: Omar Vizquel, 10,327
Closest under 30: Carl Crawford, 5,185
Omar Vizquel is still 4,000 at bats short, and he's 44. Very few will be able to stick around past 40 in this competitive game, and 14,053 is now unreachable.
All Time Runs Scored
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Record: Rickey Henderson, 2,295
Closest active player: Derek Jeter, 1,712
Closest under 30: Carl Crawford, 783
Rickey has an almost 600 run lead on Derek Jeter, who is quickly fading. Jeter probably had an as good chance as any to match Henderson, as he was a good on base guy who was part of a very good lineup throughout his career.
All Time Hits
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Record: Pete Rose, 4,256
Closest active player: Derek Jeter, 2,926
Closest under 30: Carl Crawford, 1,480
Pete Rose didn't set this record so much because he was a great hitter, but because he also set the games played, at bats and outs records. Very few people will get enough at bats to even have a shot at this record.
All Time Singles
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Record: Pete Rose, 3,215
Closest active player: Omar Vizquel, 2,200
Closest under 30: Carl Crawford, 1,056
Basically an extension of the hits record. Pete Rose got this record not so much because he was a great hitter, but because he also set the games played, at bats and outs records. Very few people will get enough at bats to even have a shot at this record.
All Time Doubles
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Record: Tris Speaker, 792
Closest active player: Ivan Rodriguez, 565
Closest under 30: Miguel Cabrera, 298
Tris Speaker is one of the most underrated players in baseball history. Unfortunately, he was overshadowed by Ty Cobb (who played the same position as him) and Honus Wagner. He did, however, manage to create an unbeatable doubles record, thanks to 17 years of 30-plus triples, averaging 42.
All Time Triples
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Record: Sam Crawford, 309
Closest active player: Carl Crawford, 105
Closest under 30: Carl Crawford, 105
Triples are hard to come by these days. The fielding is better, and now a good bat, speed and a bit of luck are all needed to pull one off. Even Carl Crawford, one of today's top batting/speed combinations, will not come close.
All Time Times on Base
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Record: Pete Rose, 5,929
Closest active player: Derek Jeter, 4,090
Closest under 30: Miguel Cabrera 2,060
Basically an extension of the hits record. Pete Rose got this record not so much because he was a great hitter, but because he also set the games played, at bats and outs records. Very few people will get enough at bats to even have a shot at this record.
All Time Hit by Pitch
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Record: Hughie Jennings, 287
Closest active player: Jason Giambi, 171
Closest under 30: Rickie Weeks, 92
Pitchers are much more accurate these days, and with umpires ejecting intentional hits, it becomes even less worth it to hit someone.
All Time Sacrifice Hits
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Record: Eddie Collins, 512
Closest active player: Omar Vizquel, 251
Closest under 30: Willy Tavarez, 52
When looking at Tavarez's mark, remember the single season record is 67. Sacrifices are a much smaller part of the game today, especially with the DH and sabermetricians like Bill James questioning their usefulness.
All Time Outs Made
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Record: Pete Rose, 10,328
Closest active player: Omar Vizquel, 8,217
Closest under 30: Carl Crawford, 2,872
Even though he set the all time times on base record, he came to the plate so many times breaking this record was inevitable. Even Omar Vizquel, who has played baseball Major League Baseball for over half of his life, is 2,000 outs short.
All Time At Bats per Strikeout
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Record: Willie Keeler, 63.2
Modern day record: Joe Sewell, 62.7
Closest active player: Juan Pierre, 15.9
Closest under 30: Yadier Molina, 10.6
As the chart shows, strikeouts have been on a steady rise since 1880, and even though they have seen a slight dip as of late, these records are completely safe.
All Time Inside the Park Home Runs
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Record: Jesse Burkett, 55
I was unable to find the active record for inside the park home runs, but since 1950, the most anyone has gotten is 13, only one more than the single season record. With more cookie-cutter ballparks creating less crazy hops, the increased resiliency of the baseball, allowing them to travel for outside the park home runs more and better fielding, inside the park home runs are now cause for a feast.
Almost Every Hitting Pitcher Record
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With the DH and a non-existent emphasis on pitchers being able to hit, almost every hitting record by a pitcher is safe. The safest of them all is Walter Johnson's 41 triples. Last year, there was a total of three triples by a pitcher by three separate players.
Single Season ERA
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Record: Tim Keefe, 0.86 in 1880
Modern day record: Dutch Leonard, 0.96 in 1914
Closest since 2000: Pedro Martinez, 1.74 in 2000
Pedro Martinez in 2000 pitched what many consider to be the greatest pitching season in MLB history. If he couldn't break the record then, no one can. Baseball is a different game now, and there won't be another extreme pitchers era.
Single Season Wins
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Record: Old Hoss Radbourn, 59 in 1884
Modern day record: Jack Chesbro, 41 in 1904
Closest since 2000: Randy Johnson, 24 in 2002
In 2010, Chris Carpenter led the majors with 35 games started. Pitchers aren't even allowed to pitch the games required to make a run at this.
Single Season Losses
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Record: John Coleman, 48 in 1883
Modern day record: Vic Willis, 29 in 1905
Closest since 2000: Mike Maroth, 21 in 2003
Just like wins, pitchers aren't allowed to pitch enough games to make a run at this. Also, if a player is doing that terrible, he'll be sent down pretty quick.
Single Season Games Started
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Record: Will White, 75 in 1879 and Pud Gavin, 75 in 1883
Modern day record: Jack Chesbro, 51 in 1904 (still unbreakable)
Closest since 2000: Tom Glavine, 36 in 2002
Greg Maddux, 36 in 2003
Roy Halladay, 36 in 2003
With the five man rotation, even a Roy Halladay surrounded by terrible starters won't be able to get 40 starts in.
Single Season Complete Games
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Record: Will White, 75 in 1879
Modern day record: Jack Chesbro, 48 in 1904
Closest since 2000: Seven tied with nine (Three of those are Roy Halladay)
If no one can start 40 games, they're going to have a tough time completing 75 of them. Back when White and Chesbro were pitching, a reliever was put in when the starter could not pitch anymore. Since then, a trend has started where relievers are being put in in preference to the starter.
Single Season Shutouts
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Record: George Bradley, 16 in 1876 and Grover Cleveland Alexander, 16 in 1916
Closest since 2000: A.J. Burnett, five in 2002 and Dontrelle Willis, five in 2005
While very few starters will be taken out of a game when they are throwing a shutout, it will happen, especially in a close game, which cuts into shutouts. Players also will have a hard time being that dominant for an entire game and then doing it 17 times in a season.
Single Season Innings Pitched
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Record: Will White, 680.0 in 1879
Modern day record: Ed Walsh, 464.0 in 1908
Closest since 2000: Roy Halladay, 266.0 in 2003
To break this record, someone would have to throw 75 complete games and then six more innings. Do I need to say any more?
Single Season Strikeouts
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Record: Matt Kilroy, 513 in 1886
Modern day record: Nolan Ryan, 383 in 1973 (breakable)
Closest since 2000: Randy Johnson, 372 in 2001
While Randy Johnson proved that Nolan Ryan's mark is breakable, Matt Kilroy's 513 strikeouts will never be broken. There have been 410 seasons (and counting) where a pitcher has struck out batters as a higher rate, but none have come close to Kilroy's 583 innings while doing so.
Single Season Walks
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Record: Amos Rusie, 289 in 1890
Modern day record: Bob Feller, 208 in 1938 (still unbreakable)
Closest since 2000: Matt Clement, 125 in 2000
To make a run at Rusie's record, a pitcher would have to lead the league in innings pitch and still give up more than one walk per inning. No one will continually be handed the ball with that many walks.
Single Season Hits Allowed
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Record: John Coleman, 772 in 1883
Modern day record: Joe McGinnity, 412 in 1901
Closest since 2000: Tanyon Sturtze, 271 in 2002
In 1883, John Coleman was the starter for one of the worst teams in baseball history. The 1883 Quakers (Phillies) were 17-81, and John Coleman started 61 of those games. He was terrible, allowing an average of 12.9 hits per nine innings.
Single Season Earned Runs
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Record: John Coleman, 291 in 1883
Modern day record: Bobo Newson, 186 in 1938 (still unbreakable)
Closest since 2000: Jose Lima, 145 in 2000
Coleman's back, this time with the single season earned runs record. When you break the hits allowed and losses record, the earned runs record usually comes with it. An interesting fact: The 1883 Quakers (Phillies) were so bad he also allowed 219 unearned runs.
Single Season Wild Pitches
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Record: Mark Baldwin, 83 in 1889
Modern day record: Red Ames, 30 in 1905 (still unbreakable)
Closest since 2000: Jose Contreras and Freddy Garcia, 20 in 2005
To break this record, a starting pitcher would have to throw two to three wild pitches per game and a reliever more than one. Anyone that wild will be in AAA pretty quickly. Red Ames' mark of 30 is not as unbreakable, but if no one has gotten past 20 in the last 10 years, I doubt there will be someone wilder as time goes on.
Single Season Batters Hit
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Record: Phil Knell, 54 in 1891
Modern day record: Chick Fraser, 31 in 1901
Closest since 2000: Five tied with 20
Fifty four hit batters would surely get a player suspended. Anyone who has that little control over their pitches probably can't get many people out, either.
Single Season Batters Faced
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Record: Will White, 2,906 in 1883
Modern day record: Joe McGinnity, 1,786 in 1903 (still unbreakable)
Closest since 2000: Roy Halladay, 1,071 in 2003
Even with a WHIP of 2.00 (which is terrible), a pitcher would have to throw 581.1 innings. No one is going to throw 300 innings again, and no one will stick around with a WHIP of 2.00.
All Time ERA
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Record: Ed Walsh, 1.82
Closest active player: Mariano Rivera, 2.22
Closest under 30: Felix Hernandez, 3.18
Even relievers can't be that dominant. Ed Walsh was one of the top pitchers in the deadball era, and that is about all that's needed to seal this record.
All Time Wins
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Record: Cy Young, 511
Closest active player: Tim Wakefield, 193
Closest under 30: Justin Verlander, 87
This record, like almost ever pitching record, is a matter of longetivity. Combine one of the greatest pitchers off all time with a 22-year career and an era where pitchers routinely threw 300 innings, and you get this record.
All Time Losses
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Record: Cy Young, 316
Closest active player: Tim Wakefield, 172
Closest under 30: Zack Duke, 70
Even with a top 75 winning percentage, Young threw so many games, he ended up with this record as well.
All Time Innings Pitched
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Record: Cy Young, 7356.0
Closest active player: Tim Wakefield, 3101.2
Closest under 30: Felix Hernandez, 1232.1
Even the ageless Tim Wakefield isn't even halfway there, and in all likeliness won't even reach halfway. No one can (or is allowed to) throw that many innings anymore.
All Time Strikeouts
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Record: Nolan Ryan 5,714
Closest active player: Javier Vazquez, 2,401
Closest under 30: Oliver Perez, 1,126
Nolan Ryan was one of the hardest throwers of all time. He had amazing blow you away stuff and was able to pitch well into his 40's. League wide rising strikeout totals as he declined helped.
All Time Games Started
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Record: Cy Young, 815
Closest active player: Livian Hernandez, 456
Closest under 30: Oliver Perez 195
To match this in today's game, someone would have to be a clear number one starter for over 23 years.
All Time Complete Games
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Record: Cy Young, 749
Closest active player: Roy Halladay, 62
Closest under 30: Felix Hernandez and Dontrelle Willis, 15
Just look at the numbers and know that Halladay has a sizable lead. This, along with all time shutouts, are the two safest records in sports history.
All Time Shutouts
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Record: Walter Johnson, 110
Closest active player: Roy Halladay, 19
Closest under 30: Dontrelle Willis, eight
The other most unbreakable record in sports. After Halladay, the runner up has 13 shutouts, and only four players have reached double digits. Three of those players are in their mid 30's, and the other is 30.
All Time Hits Allowed
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Record: Cy Young, 7,092
Closest active player: Livian Hernandez, 3,317
Closest under 30: Dontrelle Willis, 1,173
Cy Young holds this record only because of longevity, and the lack of it in the modern game will allow him to keep it.
All Time Wild Pitches
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Record: Tony Mullane, 343
Modern day record: Nolan Ryan, 277 (still unbreakable)
Closest active player: Tim Wakefield, 121
Closest under 30: Felix Hernandez 64
If the 44-year-old knuckleballer Tim Wakefield can barely get to a third of the record, and not even reach half of the modern day record, no one can reach it.
All Time Batters Hit
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Record: Gus Weyhing, 277
Modern day record: Chick Fraser, 219 (unlikely, but breakable)
Closest active player: Tim Wakefield, 178
Closest under 30: Dontrelle Willis, 59
Anyone who hit batters at a rate needed to reach this record would get a reputation as a dirty player and get ejected any time he hit a batter. If they're hitting players at that rate on accident, they aren't good enough to be in the big leagues.
All Time Batters Faced
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Record: Cy Young, 29,565
Closest active player: Tim Wakefield, 13,385
Closest under 30: Felix Hernandez, 5,099
Even with a horrendous WHIP of 2.00, a pitcher would have to throw 657 complete games (or its equivalent) to match this record.
All Time No-Hitters
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Record: Nolan Ryan, seven
Closest active player: Mark Buehrle, Roy Halladay and Justin Verlander with two
Closest under 30: Justin Verlander
Only 26 players in baseball history even have two. Only five have three, only two have four and only one has seven. No-hitters are extremely rare and besides being great, a pitcher also needs longevity and luck to even sniff four.
Single Season Errors
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Record: Herman Long, 122 in 1889 and Billy Shindle, 122 in 1890
Modern day record: John Gochnaur, 98 in 1903
Closest since 2000: Jose Valentin, 36 in 2000
All of the records for errors at a position are safe which are:
P- Jack Lynch, 38 in 1884
C- Nat Hicks, 94 in 1876
1B- Joe Quinn, 62 in 1884
2B- Bill McClellan, 105 in 1887
3B- Bill Joyce, 107 in 1890
SS- Billy Shindle, 119 in 1890 (three of his errors that year were at third)
OF- Ed Beecher, 55 in 1890
Baseball wasn't the same game back then, and there was no emphasis on fielding. If a guy could hit and run, he could play. Now people realize that even half that many errors will hurt their team, even if they are a 1.000 OPS guy. The DH also allows some of the poorer fielders to avoid even picking up a glove.
Single Season Passed Balls
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Record: Rudy Kemmier, 114 in 1883
Modern day record: Gino Petralli, 35 in 1987 (breakable)
Closest since 2000: Jason LaRue, 20 in 2002
In 1883, some people still didn't even wear gloves. It's was much harder to catch without a glove, even if the ball isn't coming in as hard. Gloves alone make this record unbreakable.
Single Season Caught Stealing (Catcher)
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Record: Deacon McGuire, 189 in 1895
Modern day record: Oscar Stanage, 156 in 1911 (still unbreakable)
Closest since 2000: Paul Lo Duca, 57 in 2003
If anyone threw out that many runners, they'd stop running on him. No one will ever throw out more than one runner per game.
All Time Errors
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Record: Herman Long, 1096
Modern day record: Honus Wagner, 828 (still unbreakable)
Closest active player: Miguel Tejada, 269
Closest under 30: David Wright, 132
P- Bobby Mathews, 220
C- Pop Snyder, 685
1B- Cap Anson, 658
2B- Fred Pfeffer, 857
3B- Arlie Latham, 822
SS- Herman Long, 1,070
OF- Tommy Brown, 490
The modern day record really surprised me. To be fair, Wagner played a long time and barely qualifies as modern era. No one will be allowed to make that many errors anymore. If they make that many, no amount of hitting will save them from the minors or at least the DH.
All Time Passed Balls
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Record: Pop Snyder, 763
Modern day record: Lance Parrish, 192 (breakable)
Closest active player: Jorge Posada, 142
Closest under 30: Yadier Molina, 44
Parrish's modern day mark could be broken by someone who stays in the lineup because of his bat, but isn't a bad enough catcher to have his position switched. 763 is completely unbreakable.
All Time Caught Stealing (Catcher)
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Record: Deacon McGuire, 1,459
Modern day record: Johnny Kling, 1,154 (still unbreakable)
Closest active player: Ivan Rodriguez, 653
Closest under 30: Yadier Molina, 169
People won't keep running on a catcher enough to reach that many caught stealing. The more a catcher throws runners out, the less chances they'll get to keep doing it.
Single Season Steals
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Record: Rickey Henderson, 130 in 1982
Closest since 2000: Jose Reyes, 78 in 2007
No one will ever be the base-stealer that Henderson was. The last person to break 100 is Rickey himself in 1983. He was also the last to attempt 100 back in 1988. Base stealing is a smaller part of the game, and no one will ever reach 130.
Single Season Caught Stealing
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Record: Rickey Henderson, 42 in 1982
Closest since 2000: Alex Sanchez, 24 in 2003 and Juan Pierre, 24 in 2004
When you steal 130 bases and attempt a steal 65.9 percent of the time you get on base, you're bound to get caught some. The only way getting caught 42 times is worth it is if you swipe 130, and since no one will manage that, no one will be caught that many times.
Single Season Steals of Home
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Record: Ty Cobb, Eight in 1912
Stealing home is so rare now that it, like an inside the park home run, will be featured in countless articles and will be broken down on ESPN for the next week. There is no way it will happen nine times in a season.
All Time Steals
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Record: Rickey Henderson, 1,406
Closest active player: Juan Pierre, 534
Closest under 30: Carl Crawford, 416
Did you know Henderson took off 32.6 percent of the time he got on base? And only two people have gotten on more than him. That, coupled with his amazing base stealing abilities, makes this record unbeatable.
All Time Caught Stealing
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Record: Rickey Henderson, 335
Closest active player: Juan Pierre 181
Closest under 30: Carl Crawford, 93
No one will be allowed to be caught this much and still keep stealing bases.
All Time Steals of Home
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Record: Ty Cobb, 54
Baseball is a different game now. A lot of those probably came from double steals, and those aren't tried very often anymore. A pure steal of home is even more rare, and this record is safe.
Consecutive Games Played
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Record: Cal Ripken, 2,632
Longest active streak: Right now Matt Kemp, but could change on any given day.
They said this about Gehrig's streak, but I am convinced Ripken is here to stay. It takes a very special player to be able to play day in and day out for 17 years. The likes of Ripken will never be seen again.
Youngest Player
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Record: Joe Nuxhall, 15 years old and 316 days
There's now a rule saying players must be 18 to play in the big leagues, making this rule, barring a rule change, literally unbreakable.
Oldest Player
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Record: Satchel Paige, 59 years old and 80 days
Oldest actual player: Jack Quinn, 50 (even more unbreakable)
Satchel Paige could very well have been even older when he pitched his final game at 59 years of age. Paige's birthday is not certain and is subject to much speculation. However, the game Paige played was a publicity stunt, and the oldest non publicity stunt player was Jack Quinn. Quinn's record is even more unbreakable because he, at 50, was actually still playing baseball full time.
Most World Series Wins (Player)
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Record: Yogi Berra, 10
Closest active players: Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada, five
Baseball is a lot more competitive now, and no team will be able to be that dominant ever again. Berra, besides being a great player himself, also had help from being teammates with Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford.
Most Games Without a Playoff Appearance
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Record: Ernie Banks, 2,528
Closest active player: Adam Dunn, 1,494
With expanded playoffs and more team changes, most players at least get a taste of playoff action. If someone is yet to reach the playoffs by the end of their "big contract," they will often accept a bench role on a sure contender.
Longest Hitting Streak
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Record: Joe DiMaggio, 56 in 1941
Getting a hit in 56 consecutive games is almost impossible.
Longest On-Base Streak
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Record: Ted Williams, 84 in 1949
Finding that Joe DiMaggio hit safely in 56 consecutive games is one of the easiest facts to find on the internet, but when you look for the longest on base streak, it takes a little bit of a closer look. Some places will even give you the wrong answer. Why is this? Isn't getting on base in 84 consecutive games more valuable than getting a hit in 56? I think it has to do with the popularity of OBP vs AVG, another common baseball practice that doesn't make much sense.
Most Years as a Manager
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Record: Connie Mack, 53
Closest active manager: Tony LaRussa, 35
LaRussa would have to manage until he's 84 to match Connie Mack. The only way someone could stay manager that long is if they were owner of the team (which Mack happened to be). To go through the ups and downs over many years and to stay welcome even into a more advanced age won't happen anymore.
Single Season Losses (Team)
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Record: Cleveland Spiders, 134 in 1899
Modern day record: New York Mets, 120 in 1962 (breakable)
Closest since 2000: Detroit Tigers, 119 in 2003
One thing most people don't realize about the Spiders is that they were essentially a minor league team. At the time, Major League Baseball had syndicate ownership, which allowed an ownership group to own two franchises. This was done because of poor economic stability, but it did little to help competitive balance. Teams would essentially use one team as a minor league affiliate, so it was like six major league teams playing in the same league as there AAA affiliate. The Spiders were victims of this practice. They, as a result, had the worst team in history.
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