untouchable baseball records

cravetopps

In your always humble opinion(s) what major league baseball record(s), no distinction between modern and 19th century, will never be broken?

Socalguy1967

Cy Young...... 511 Wins

gregmo32

511 wins
The Streak
5700 (?) strikeouts

TZAHL

Career wins. Nobody will ever come close.

sando69

it is my belief that the record for losses, 311, is even more unbreakable!
think about it...

TJMAC

TY Cobb .366 or .367 (depending on what book you read) career average. There are few players who even hit that in a season let alone a career. Truly remarkable considering how low the averages were during the dead ball era.

Brian48

<< <i>it is my belief that the record for losses, 311, is even more unbreakable!
think about it... >>



Well, Nolan Ryan came awfully close to that one , but yeah. I agree, you have to be good enough to last long enough to accumulate that many losses.

Another record that I see standing for a while also would be Orel Hershiser's 59 2/3 scoreless innings streak. That was an absolutely remarkable season. Too bad he faded fairly quickly after that.

pandrews

markj111

Single season and career complete games.

theczar

charlie radbourn 59 wins in a season. hack wilson 191 rbis in a season. youngest player joe nuxhall 15 years old (pitched to musial in that game, wonder if he was nervous? ) hugh duffy .440 batting average in a season or even ty cobb .367 career.

then you have the freaks vanda meer back to back no hitters
fernando tatis 8 rbi's in one inning.
theorhetically these could be tied, but i wouldn't hold my breath.

Uncbob

Alexanders 16 complete game shutouts in one season

And that was as a RH pitching in Baker Bowl with the short right field

Uncbob

Bob Fellers striking out as many as his age
17 KOs at age 17

2dueces

511 wins.. Streaks will come and go but 511 wins? Pitchers with long careers are lucky to get 500 starts. ( 25 starts for 20 years). Simply an amazing feat!!!

BobaFett72

career wins/losses

complete games

stolen bases

highest career batting averages

career shutouts.

consecutive games streak
---------
given how starting pitchers are babied and coddled...and cant pitch past the sixth inning a good many records are safe.

Stingray

Ryan's no hit games at seven.

Jdurg

Pete Rose's record for career hits. I honestly don't see ball players today playing for as long or seeing as many at-bats as Rose did.

Yankeeefan

<< <i>Ryan's no hit games at seven. >>



Most pitchers won't have that many complete games in their career.

RipublicaninMass

<< <i>

<< <i>Ryan's no hit games at seven. >>



Most pitchers won't have that many complete games in their career. >>





sad but true

TZAHL

I think if Ichiro would have come into the league at age 22 he would of had a shot at Rose's record.

Volver

Triples in a season 36
Triples in a career 306

buddyholly

Well most of the records quoted will be unbreakable, I agree, but...guys can still worm their way into the top 20 and sometimes top 10 in a lot of cases.

Look at TRIPLES fer chrissakes...current Active leader is Steve Finley (old as Methuselah) and he isn't even in the top 90 Career.

Single season...no post 1950 season player has even cracked the top 50 !!

Aaah. The much forgotten triple and one of baseball's toughest records!!

BugOnTheRug

511

Blackborder

Agreed, 511 wins is untouchable.

56 consecutive games with a hit will also never be broken.

bishop

Two grand slams hit in one inning...Fernado Tatis, St Louis
Two grand slams given up in one inning...Chan Ho Park

baseballfan

wins and losses

they only pitch every 5th day

DaBigHurt

Many of the records from the dead-ball era will never be approached because the numbers are just insane.

A more contemporary record that I don't think will ever be broken is Johnny Vandermeer's back to back no-hitters.

MooseDog

Some not mentioned yet - here's a dirty dozen:

1) Dutch Leonard 0.96 season ERA (1914)

2) Ryan 7 no-hitters

3) Johnny Vandermeer back to back no-hitters

4) Will White 75 complete games in a season (1879)

5) 26 inning complete game (Joe Oeschger & Leon Cadore dueled to a 1-1 tie)

6) Cy Young 749 career complete games

7) Bobo Hollomon no-hitter in first major league start

8) Eric Gagne 84 consecutive saves

9) Most positions played in one game (9) Cesar Tovar and Bert Campaneris (this one could be broken now if someone chose to do it. They could start the game as DH and then play all nine positions. Team would lose the DH for the rest of the game though.

10) 38 home runs by a pitcher Wes Farrell (38)

11) 81 home runs to start a game (first batter) Rickey Henderson

12) Chicago Cubs (most years between World Series wins)

Mickey71

I think it is possible to have more than 300 losses. Some pitchers are pitching 20 years +. If you lose 15 for 20 years it is 300. If you lose 13 for 23 years it is 299. If you are very durable and not a super star then this is possible. Unlikely but possible. How many losses did Nolan Ryan have-almost 300. With the media and the relief pitching a 56 game hitting streak would be close to impossible. When guys get really hot the opposing team sometimes walks them or even hits them making it nearly impossible to keep such a streak alive. There are other streaks but I just wanted to bring these up.

jeffcbay

<< <i>Some not mentioned yet - here's a dirty dozen:

1) Dutch Leonard 0.96 season ERA (1914)

2) Ryan 7 no-hitters

3) Johnny Vandermeer back to back no-hitters

4) Will White 75 complete games in a season (1879)

5) 26 inning complete game (Joe Oeschger & Leon Cadore dueled to a 1-1 tie)

6) Cy Young 749 career complete games

7) Bobo Hollomon no-hitter in first major league start

8) Eric Gagne 84 consecutive saves

9) Most positions played in one game (9) Cesar Tovar and Bert Campaneris (this one could be broken now if someone chose to do it. They could start the game as DH and then play all nine positions. Team would lose the DH for the rest of the game though.

10) 38 home runs by a pitcher Wes Farrell (38)

11) 81 home runs to start a game (first batter) Rickey Henderson

12) Chicago Cubs (most years between World Series wins) >>



13) Ripken's Consecutive Games Played Streak!!

NickM

Add Ed Walsh's single season innings pitched record (464 1/3) to the list.

Nick

MooseDog

<< <i>13) Ripken's Consecutive Games Played Streak!! >>



That had already been mentioned a couple of times...I didn't notice the Ryan no-hitters had already been mentioned as well. Actually I think a player COULD set out to break Ripken's streak but yes, it would take a lot of luck and good health to do it.

Also I should do more homework. I have been informed that two other players, Scott Sheldon and Shane Halter also both played all nine positions in a game.

baseballfanatic

<< <i>
9) Most positions played in one game (9) Cesar Tovar and Bert Campaneris (this one could be broken now if someone chose to do it. They could start the game as DH and then play all nine positions. Team would lose the DH for the rest of the game though.

>>



This was already tied by Shane Halter of the Tigers and Scott Sheldon of the Rangers in 2000..

NickM

Walsh has the modern record. The rules of play were so different in the 19th century that it seems silly to count some of those pitching records.

There is another category of record where it's mathematically impossible that anyone could ever break it - best fielding percentage in a season by a 1B or OF comes to mind (it's already 1.000).

Nick

Seraph

Non-juiced career HRs.

kcballboy

<< <i>Two grand slams hit in one inning...Fernado Tatis, St Louis
Two grand slams given up in one inning...Chan Ho Park >>



Didn't Sosa and Ventura do that or was theirs just in the same game? I forget.

I don't agree that some of the major pitching records couldn't be broken. There has been a drastic shift in the way the game is played over the last few decades but whose to say that it couldn't shift back the other way as well.

NickM

For many of the single-season pitching records to ever be approached again, a team would need to switch from a 5-man down to a 3-man rotation. Imagine being a manager and trying to convince your owner, GM, and pitching staff that was a good idea before implementing it.

Nick

jeffcbay

<< <i>

<< <i>13) Ripken's Consecutive Games Played Streak!! >>



That had already been mentioned a couple of times...I didn't notice the Ryan no-hitters had already been mentioned as well. Actually I think a player COULD set out to break Ripken's streak but yes, it would take a lot of luck and good health to do it.

Also I should do more homework. I have been informed that two other players, Scott Sheldon and Shane Halter also both played all nine positions in a game. >>



Sorry 'bout that, I missed that you were listing some that haven't been listed yet.

I do suppose ANY record can be broken, but rest assured, if someone approaches Ripken's streak, I will pout and not like them.

grote15

The advent of the five-man rotation and the relief pitcher is the modern-day equivalent to the dead ball/live ball era for hitters. It's just not possuble to compare pitching records today with those from the past. On the other hand, though it's very HIGHLY unlikely, a hitter could hit safely in 56 games (though I don't think it'll ever happen), it is at least POSSIBLE. But it's is actually IMPOSSIBLE for a pitcher to win 36 games in a season because most pitchers don't even get 36 starts in a season anymore, lol!

Piman58

Eddie Gaedel's career on-base percentage of 1.000 may be tied, but it will never be surpassed.

41GoudeyGuy

Rennie Stennent going 7 for 7 in a 9 inning game. Who's going to get 8 hits in 9 innings?

WeekendHacker

Single season .424 batting avg - it's been over 60 years since someone hit .400, much less .424

gumbyfan

See my sig....

NickM

It's not impossible for a pitcher to get 36 wins in a season. He might have to be a reliever who came in with the score tied much of the time, but when relief pitchers routinely get in 80 games a year, the necessary opportunities could be present.

Nick

JackWESQ

Gentlemen,

Some thoughts.

1. Will any manager be crazy enough to walk any hitter 233 times in a season to break Bonds' record?
2. Will anybody ATTEMPT to steal 131 bases, much less actually steal them?
3. Maury Wills played ONE HUNDRED SIXTY FIVE (165) games in 1962. What scenario would be required for a team to play 166 games?
4. ESPN's Rob Neyer says someone will hit 74 homeruns sooner than we think. Hmmm?
5. On September 28, 1919, the Giants beat the Phils 6-1 in FIFTY-ONE MINUTES. Top that!
6. In 1944, Charley Barrett of the Boston Braves threw FIFTY-EIGHT pitches in a nine-inning complete game.
7. An odd record to be sure, but most wins/shutouts IN ONE DAY? On September 26, 1908, Ed Reulbach pitched BOTH games of doubleheader and won the first game 5-0 and the second 3-0.
8. On June 14, 1974, Nolan Ryan pitched 13 innings, struck out 19, walked 10 and threw TWO HUNDRED THIRTY FIVES pitches. Is this the "modern" record? Who knows. Will any pitcher come close to this mark? No way. Wait, is Dusty Baker still managing?
9. The Mets stole 25 bases in 1994; St. Louis stole 314 bases in 1985. Wow.

/s/ JackWESQ

shambo2000

61 Home Runs in a season!

bigfische

<< <i>Bob Fellers striking out as many as his age
17 KOs at age 17 >>



how old was kerry wood when he got his 20?

fandango

<< <i>61 Home Runs in a season! >>



NA, pujols would have passed that last year if he didnt have that freak injury.....

helionaut

Wood was 20, 5/6/98.

I still think that DiMaggio's record is not as untouchable as many others. It's not a career record, just a third of a season. It's not something that requires tremendous power or speed, though those would certainly help. Looking at it one way, anyone who can hit .250 has a shot. Looking at it another way, if you see how many guys just in the last 5 years have had streaks of 30+, it's not a matter of being a batting average champion kind of hitter. While the fact that Joe's streak was 12 games longer than the next closest, IIRC, it's that way with most records, the leader being way ahead of second place. Many times he was saved by a hit in his last AB, and that's just something that hasn't happened for other people. Some day the chips will fall right for someone else.

Hershiser's 59 scoreless inning streak is more impressive for me as it depends not only on his not making mistakes, but also the fielding of the whole team. He beat the old record by just 1/3 inning, IIRC, but no one has come close in nearly 20 years since. I wonder what that top 10 looks like. Any statheads know that?

sayheykid54

1. Hack Wilson's single season RBI record.
2. Cy Young all-time wins list.

sayheykid54

Ty Cobb's 367 lifetime batting average. I see that one lasting for a long, long time.