THE NEW Biggest Record in Sports!

fandango · October 26, 2007 6:36AM

With all this steroid stuff, the Most well known (and maybe most difficult to break) record has to now be:

Joe D's 56 Game Hitting Streak...

nobody has come close in years, and this record is not steroid related...the biggest juice head in the world wouldnt have a beter chance of breaking it...

hitting streaks are way more difficult to comply then HR'S, and Joe D deserves more credit for this then he gets!

Teknobailey · October 26, 2007 6:46AM

<< With all this steroid stuff, the Most well known (and maybe most difficult to break) record has to now be:

Joe D's 56 Game Hitting Streak...

nobody has come close in years, and this record is not steroid related...the biggest juice head in the world wouldnt have a beter chance of breaking it...

hitting streaks are way more difficult to comply then HR'S, and Joe D deserves more credit for this then he gets! >>

It was controversial, but it still stands...

dontippet · October 26, 2007 6:47AM

I understand where you are coming from, but I do believe it is breakable. The main reason I think so, is because it only takes 57 games to do it. Most other records are career records, and by having emphasis on longevity, reduce the number of eligible participants. For example, Ripken's streak is longer than the careers of 95% of baseball players. A 57 game hit streak would obviously take a lot of skill, luck, and coincedence, but could be accomplished.

One "short" record that I think would be hard to break is Fernando Tatis's two grand slams in one inning off of the same pitcher. It has only been done eight or so times in a single game let alone a single inning. Obviously, this record is not as glamorous as Dimaggio's. I don't think it will be broken, but it only takes two specific situations to occur, so it is possible.

Another record that is hard to break is the complet games record. If memory serves correctly, a pitcher in the early part of the 20th century threw 119 complete games or something like that. Pitchers aren't even put in those kinds of situations today.

dontippet · October 26, 2007 6:48AM

<< It was controversial, but it still stands... >>

How was it controversial? I don't remember that part.

justmichael · October 26, 2007 6:52AM

Cy Youngs record of 511 we never even come close to being broken.

cravetopps · October 26, 2007 6:54AM

I would bet the hitting streak record will be broken long before Ryan's SO (5714) record.

digicat · October 26, 2007 7:00AM

<< Joe D deserves more credit for this then he gets >>

He's he's in the Hall of Fame, he's still a house-hold name after 50 years, and he's got the adoration of a generation of fans, their children, and their children's children, and he's basically ascended to Baseball Godhood. Besides that, how much more credit can we possibly give him?

bhelser · October 26, 2007 7:08AM

Another record (while not glamorized or good) that has no chance of being broken

and from a long time ago

7/22/1876 - Johnny Ryan

10 Wild Pitches in 1 game

BobaFett72 · October 26, 2007 7:09AM

regarding the controversy:

October is the month of baseball's World Series, so it is an appropriate time to consider "56*," an article just published in the Canadian magazine Walrus. In it author David Robbeson asks, "Was Joe DiMaggio's fifty-six-game hitting streak the greatest feat in all of sports or merely a product of its time?"

Robbeson's Argument

Robbeson's argument, which has been made before but never, I think, so thoroughly, revolves around one Dan Daniel.

Daniel was a baseball writer who had covered the Yankees for a long time, was a personal friend of many of the players, traveled with the team and submitted his expenses to it. He was also the official home-game scorer for the Yankees. He decided, among other things, whether any at-bat should be adjudged a hit by the batter or an error by the fielder, yet he was, in Robbeson's words, "as much a PR man as a reporter."

Specifically, Robbeson cites two games in the middle of the streak, the 30th and 31st, when DiMaggio managed just one hit. In each of these games, the hit was suspect and could well have, and perhaps should have, been deemed an error.

The first involved a bad bounce that hit off the shoulder of shortstop Luke Appling after he reached for it. Hits and errors were not immediately recorded on the scoreboard so, Robbeson writes, some spectators believed the streak had come to an end. Daniel, however, called it a hit.

The 31st game of the streak involved a fielding play that was also arguably an error on the part of Appling, who got his glove on the ball, but dropped it. Again Daniel scored it a hit.

How could this have happened without arousing more controversy? Robbeson argues that despite the present Olympian status of the streak, at the time American involvement in World War II was looming and attention to the then-29-game streak and its fluky extension was not intense and baseball attendance was quite low. Amazingly, the attendance in 22 of the games during the streak was less than 10,000.

itzagoner · October 26, 2007 7:11AM

1971-72 L.A. Lakers, 33 straight.......NEVER!

TheThrill · October 26, 2007 7:19AM

Just wait till this season starts in the N.B.A.

Grizzilies win 35 straight!

TomGshotput · October 26, 2007 7:24AM

Greatest accomplishment? No

Most likely to never be broken? No

Most famous? Yes

Even one of DiMaggio's other records, fewest strikeouts in a season with 30 or more homeruns, might be less likely to be broken

Interesting to see just how close it really was to being a 29 game hitting streak. It was also close to being something like a 63 game hitting streak. It may be the most fickle record

zippy · October 26, 2007 7:31AM

The one record that is never mentioned that will never be broken is throwing 2 Perfect games in the World series

I can't even recall anyone coming close to matching don Larsens feat much less eclipsing it

Throwing a Perfect game is one of baseball's greatest feats & has only happened once in a post season game

This record may be matched one day, but broken, NEVER

cwazzy · October 26, 2007 7:32AM

<< I understand where you are coming from, but I do believe it is breakable. The main reason I think so, is because it only takes 57 games to do it. Most other records are career records, and by having emphasis on longevity, reduce the number of eligible participants. For example, Ripken's streak is longer than the careers of 95% of baseball players. A 57 game hit streak would obviously take a lot of skill, luck, and coincedence, but could be accomplished. >>

Although I agree that this record is breakable (as are all records under the right circumstances) I think it is less likely than many career records. Career records can be broken even if the player has a bad game or even an off year. One bad game in the quest for 57+ games and the chances at a new record are shot.

Chris

Estil · October 26, 2007 7:41AM

As far as baseball records go, the most unbreakable is Cy Young's 511 career wins. No offense to Joe-D's record, but all one has to do is bat .250 over the course of 57 games and you have the record (since you'd need just one hit out of four AB's a game). At least it would be that simple if the media didn't jinx everyone who gets over 30.

RoarIn84 · October 26, 2007 7:41AM

how about Charlie Hough committing 9 balks in 4 innings in 1988- 7 of them in one inning! this probably wouldn't count as the league was going balk happy at the time......

there's also Johnny Vander Meer's 2 consecutive no-hitters.....another stroke of luck

i think just about any streak involves too much luck

Teknobailey · October 26, 2007 7:44AM

<< 

<< It was controversial, but it still stands... >>

How was it controversial? I don't remember that part. >>

BobaFett72 summarized it for you I believe.

Thanks.

Estil · October 26, 2007 7:49AM

<< The one record that is never mentioned that will never be broken is throwing 2 Perfect games in the World series

I can't even recall anyone coming close to matching don Larsens feat much less eclipsing it

Throwing a Perfect game is one of baseball's greatest feats & has only happened once in a post season game

This record may be matched one day, but broken, NEVER >>

To put that feat in perspective, there has never even been so much as a no-hitter before or since, in ANY round of the post-season.

bhl2359 · October 26, 2007 8:08AM

<< 

<< Joe D deserves more credit for this then he gets >>

He's he's in the Hall of Fame, he's still a house-hold name after 50 years, and he's got the adoration of a generation of fans, their children, and their children's children, and he's basically ascended to Baseball Godhood. Besides that, how much more credit can we possibly give him? >>

Put him on the $1 bill?

bhl2359 · October 26, 2007 8:09AM

<< One "short" record that I think would be hard to break is Fernando Tatis's two grand slams in one inning off of the same pitcher. It has only been done eight or so times in a single game let alone a single inning. Obviously, this record is not as glamorous as Dimaggio's. I don't think it will be broken, but it only takes two specific situations to occur, so it is possible. >>

That isn't really a record. It is more of an accomplishment than anything else.

TheThrill · October 26, 2007 8:35AM

I have to say that I REALLY dont think it's a NEW biggest record in sports at all.

When you look at sports as I do, It is and alway's will be a monumental record.

Baseball changes all the time. Power surges, Base stealing, ect....

But when it comes to batting for Avg, it still the same at the most basic level. Some say it's tougher with releivers and closers being used as "normal". Back in the day you got to see 4 or 5 turns at the plate with 1 pitcher. You could figure him out. Now you have to see the starter twice, a releiver once, and a closer once. Tough. Complete games are a thing of the past now.

So when it comes to " THE STREAK" it IS one of the BIGGEST in all of sports to me. Alway's will be. Just like Williams .400 in 1941.

Im not saying .400 will never be done again, not by a longshot. But it is still Monumental.

Joltin Joe will alway's be a Icon as a player, Yankee, and " THE STREAK". Controversy or not. MANY, MANY agree with that.

Brian48 · October 26, 2007 8:52AM

<< 

<< Joe D deserves more credit for this then he gets >>

He's he's in the Hall of Fame, he's still a house-hold name after 50 years, and he's got the adoration of a generation of fans, their children, and their children's children, and he's basically ascended to Baseball Godhood. Besides that, how much more credit can we possibly give him? >>

He got to bone Marilyn Monroe in her (hottest) prime.

digicat · October 26, 2007 9:07AM

<< He's he's in the Hall of Fame, he's still a house-hold name after 50 years, and he's got the adoration of a generation of fans, their children, and their children's children, and he's basically ascended to Baseball Godhood. Besides that, how much more credit can we possibly give him? >>

He got to bone Marilyn Monroe in her (hottest) prime. >>

Marilyn ripped a piece of Joe's heart out, and that haunted him for the rest of his life. Pretty heavy price to pay for some action.

dude · October 26, 2007 9:18AM

I've watched and followed plenty of players go over 25 game hitting streaks. The problem is that once they hit a certain number of games, say 30, the pitchers will start throwing them just junk outside of the strikezone because they know full well that the hitter will chase it to keep his streak going. So, with that being said, another type of record that should be tracked is consecutive games getting on base (hits plus walks).

sayheykid54 · October 26, 2007 9:46AM

I feel the loftiest record in sports is baseball's career batting average. At .367 held by the iconic legend Ty Cobb the record is untouchable.

2dueces · October 26, 2007 9:52AM

<< Cy Youngs record of 511 we never even come close to being broken. >>

theczar · October 26, 2007 11:00AM

rob bironas 8 fg's in one game.

rube26105 · October 26, 2007 11:06AM

i like cal most consecutive games played,itll be a while before that one is broke-thats a long one
couple of good ones this years were:
that guy that broke the record for getting hit more times than anyone!-name escapes me now
and the bravers coach for getting kicked out of games more times than anyone!

killingdream · October 26, 2007 11:22AM

Here are some all time records that I see as untouchable

All Time Hits - Pete Rose - 4,256. Maybe not totally unbreakable but Jeter and A-Rod are 33 and 31 respectively and still approx. 2,000 hits off. They are the only current players with even the remotest of shots.

Triples - Sam Crawford - 309. This is one hitting record that is 100% unbreakable. The only guy in the last fifty years to even break the top twenty is Musial with 177. The active leader is Steve Finley with 124.

Stolen Bases - Rickey Henderson - 1,406. Sure it's a recently set record but Henderson pushed the thing way out of reach. He has a 468 base cushion over #2 Brock. That is a career's worth of steals for a modern day top of the line base thief. The active leader here is Kenny Lofton with 622.

Singles - Pete Rose - 3,215. Not the most glamorous of records but only Rose and Cobb have broken 3,000 with singles alone. The active leader is Craig Biggio with 2,046.

Career ERA - Ed Walsh - 1.82. The closest modern day pitcher ranks 44 with a 2.52 ERA and last pitched in 1972. I was surprised to see that it was Hoyt Wilhelm. Somehow this slipped past me. The closest pitcher of the last twenty years is Dan Quisenberry at #87 with a 2.76 ERA. The active leader is Pedro Martinez with a 2.80 ERA , almost a full run above the record of Walsh.

Wins - Cy Young - 511. No explanation needed. One of the most untouchable records , if not THE most untouchable.

Inning Pitched - Cy Young - 7,354. No way will a modern pitcher come remotely close to this. Phil Niekro is ranked #4 with 5,404. Almost 2,000 less innings and he pitched forever!

Strikeouts - Nolan Ryan - 5,714. A recent record like Hendersons but also one that was pushed beyond reach just like Henderson did with the SB record. I think the one is truly unreachable due to the changing nature of the starting pitcher in todays game. Pitchers of today can't accumulate enough innings to approach records like this.

Complete Games - Cy Young - 749. Just as unbreakable as the Wins record. Unless the game drastically changes this is impossible to break. For reference sake Clemens is the active leader with 118.

Shutouts - Walter Johnson - 110. Unbreakable for the same reasons as the other pitching records. Clemens is the active leader here too with 46. Only 64 behind The Big Train.

There are others but those are just a few of the unbreakable records that I see.

justmichael · October 26, 2007 11:33AM

<< Here are some all time records that I see as untouchable

All Time Hits - Pete Rose - 4,256. Maybe not totally unbreakable but Jeter and A-Rod are 33 and 31 respectively and still approx. 2,000 hits off. They are the only current players with even the remotest of shots.

Triples - Sam Crawford - 309. This is one hitting record that is 100% unbreakable. The only guy in the last fifty years to even break the top twenty is Musial with 177. The active leader is Steve Finley with 124.

Stolen Bases - Rickey Henderson - 1,406. Sure it's a recently set record but Henderson pushed the thing way out of reach. He has a 468 base cushion over #2 Brock. That is a career's worth of steals for a modern day top of the line base thief. The active leader here is Kenny Lofton with 622.

Singles - Pete Rose - 3,215. Not the most glamorous of records but only Rose and Cobb have broken 3,000 with singles alone. The active leader is Craig Biggio with 2,046.

Career ERA - Ed Walsh - 1.82. The closest modern day pitcher ranks 44 with a 2.52 ERA and last pitched in 1972. I was surprised to see that it was Hoyt Wilhelm. Somehow this slipped past me. The closest pitcher of the last twenty years is Dan Quisenberry at #87 with a 2.76 ERA. The active leader is Pedro Martinez with a 2.80 ERA , almost a full run above the record of Walsh.

Wins - Cy Young - 511. No explanation needed. One of the most untouchable records , if not THE most untouchable.

Inning Pitched - Cy Young - 7,354. No way will a modern pitcher come remotely close to this. Phil Niekro is ranked #4 with 5,404. Almost 2,000 less innings and he pitched forever!

Strikeouts - Nolan Ryan - 5,714. A recent record like Hendersons but also one that was pushed beyond reach just like Henderson did with the SB record. I think the one is truly unreachable due to the changing nature of the starting pitcher in todays game. Pitchers of today can't accumulate enough innings to approach records like this.

Complete Games - Cy Young - 749. Just as unbreakable as the Wins record. Unless the game drastically changes this is impossible to break. For reference sake Clemens is the active leader with 118.

Shutouts - Walter Johnson - 110. Unbreakable for the same reasons as the other pitching records. Clemens is the active leader here too with 46. Only 64 behind The Big Train.

There are others but those are just a few of the unbreakable records that I see. >>

justmichael · October 26, 2007 11:33AM

I think Cy Youngs record for most losses may never be broke either.

killingdream · October 26, 2007 11:41AM

<< I think Cy Youngs record for most losses may never be broke either. >>

Agreed. I left that one off because I got tired typing.

EagleEyeKid · October 26, 2007 11:45AM

Records were meant to be broken, but I agree with some of the posts that several will never be attained.

I'll add one to the list that's not baseball:

Gretzky holds 61 records (unreal) and here's one of them which
I would love to see broken, but I doubt it. Maybe not in our life
time. Lemieux was close with 85.

MOST GOALS, ONE SEASON:
92 (1981-82, 80-game schedule) Gretzky
87 (1983-84, 80-game schedule) Gretzky
85 (1988-89, 80-game schedule) M. Lemieux

TNTonPMS · October 26, 2007 1:23PM

The streak , That is such a huge record to try to break .

As is Nolan Ryans strikeout record, but I think there is more of a chance of that being broken than Di Maggio's .

djspann · October 26, 2007 1:52PM

<< No offense to Joe-D's record, but all one has to do is bat .250 over the course of 57 games and you have the record (since you'd need just one hit out of four AB's a game). At least it would be that simple if the media didn't jinx everyone who gets over 30.

>>

DiMaggio's streak is much more difficult to reach than this. The key is that you have to get a hit in every game, not just average more than 1 hit per game over 57 games:

Assuming 4 AB per game, with an average of 0.250, your odds of getting no hits in a game is 0.75^4 = 0.316.
Your odds of getting at least one hit in a game is 1 - (0.75^4) = 0.684.
To do this in 56 consecutive games, the odds are [1-(0.75^4)]^56 = 5.6e-10!
Assuming a lot of career games (2055), you get 2000 opportunities for 56 consecutive games. So, if you're a career 0.250 hitter, and play for 2055 games, your odds of reaching DiMaggio's record are 1-(1-5.6e-10)^2000 = 1.12e-6, or 1 in 893,000.

If you do the same math for a career 0.330 hitter, your odds of getting no hits in a game is 0.67^4 = 0.202.
Your odds of getting at least one hit in a game is 1 - (0.67^4) = 0.798.
Your odds of hitting in 56 consecutive games are [1-(0.67^4)]^56 = 3.4e-6.
Over 2055 games, your odds of reaching DiMaggio's record are 1-(1-3.4e-6)^2000 = 0.0068, or 1 in 148.

This assumes every AB is independent of all the others, so pitching around the batter is not in the picture.

The record is definitely breakable, but it is also quite a feat.

edited to correct career probabilities

Doug

THE NEW Biggest Record in Sports!

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