Top 10 MLB Records That Will Never Be Broken


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Top 10 MLB Records That Will Never Be Broken

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Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The MLB record books are stocked full of records of all kinds. There are records that are broken every week or certainly every season in Major League Baseball. Some records are not so envious and no one wants to break them. There are records that possibly could be broken one day and there are those few records that will never be broken. This is a list of the top ten MLB Records that will never be broken.

A few honorable mentions here before we get started might be nice. Cy Young is the owner of a record that will probably never be broken but didn’t make this list. I’m speaking of his 366 career losses. Yes, you read that correctly. There is no way a pitcher will pitch that many complete games to get that many decisions anymore. There is the record for six wild pitches in a game which is held by a couple. While we are on pitchers Steve Carlton is owner of a record he would probably rather forget, believe it or not. I am speaking of his 90 career balks which very well might never be broken.

To the hitting side we have Barry Bonds’ 232 walks in 2004. That isn’t on the list simply because that was one of the years where he almost certainly used PEDs and pitchers probably wouldn’t have walked him that much if every time his ball hit the bat it didn’t go out of the park. Babe Ruth had 70 career 2-homer games but that could probably fall one day. Sammy Sosa and Hank Greenberg are tied for most 2-homer games in a season with 11 but again that will probably fall eventually.

We’ll look at two more fun ones before we start the official list. Cal Ripkin, Jr. might figure into the top ten but not for one of his records. He has the record for the most career double-plays grounded into at 350. Reggie Jackson might be one of the greatest hitters of all time but he was also legendary at something else. He has the record for the most career strikeouts as a batter with 2597.

Now we will get serious. These are what I consider the records that will be the most difficult to break. If you can think of another one please comment below with what your opinion is. Here we go.

David Miller is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @davidmillerrant, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google+.

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10 – Chief Wilson – 36 Triples in a Single Season

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Jason O. Watson-USA TODAY Sports

Wilson played just before what we call the live ball era but this record is amazing for a batter of any period of time after the turn of the 20th century. To get 36 triples in a season is so ridiculous that there have only been more than 20 in a single season three times since 1950. Chief Wilson himself never came close to this 1912 number again. It was just one of those special seasons where something went right for triples.

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9 – Hack Wilson – 191 RBI in a Single Season

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Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

You want to see a successful season? Look no further than Hack Wilson’s 191 RBI season for the Chicago Cubs. During that season he also had 56 homers and 208 hits. You might be thinking that someone has come close for a long time. In fact not one player has had over 170 RBI in a season since the 1930’s. This one is pretty secure.

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8 – Ted Williams - .482 Career On-Base Percentage

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Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

Obviously Ted Williams is one of the greatest hitters, probably the greatest pure hitter ever. Players have had on-base percentages over .500 and even over .600 for a single season or more. To actually average nearly a .500 on-base percentage for a career is unreal. That means nearly half of the time he came to the plate he reached base. Think about that for a minute. It’s pretty amazing.

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7 – Vince Coleman – 110 Steals by a Rookie

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Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sport

In 2012 Mike Trout wowed everyone by leading the AL in steals. He had 49. I’m not saying 49 isn’t a lot for a rookie or anyone but 110 by a rookie, in a MLB where steals aren’t nearly as focused on as they were decades ago, is just not going to happen again.

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6 – Ted Williams – Reached Base 84 Consecutive Games in 1949

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Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Everyone probably wonders why I didn’t put Joe DiMaggio’s 56 game hit streak on this list. As rare as it seems, I think it could possibly happen again given the right player and the right season. Ted Williams’ mark of reaching base an incredible 84 games in a row in 1949 is just way too far out there to reach. To say it could happen again would mean there would be another Ted Williams and that isn’t happening. Tony Gwinn is as close as anyone has ever gotten since and even he was quite a distance away.

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5 – Rickey Henderson – 1270 Career Stolen Bases

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Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Henderson has quite a few stolen bases records and to be honest I don’t know that his single season mark will ever be broken either. Even if someone comes along and has a great season or two, I cannot imagine someone averaging this many for this long. To reach 1300 career steals someone would need to average 65 steals a season for 20 years or 87 per season for 15 years. I just don’t see that happening again. Henderson’s record is safe.

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4 – Nolan Ryan – 7 Career No-Hitters

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Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

The only pitcher in MLB history to come close to this is the legendary Sandy Koufax and even he is three no-hitters behind Nolan Ryan. Being able to achieve that level of dominance for long enough to throw seven no-hitters is unthinkable. Think about this though. Ryan amazingly had 7 no-hitters but he also had 12 1-hitters. Wow.

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3 – Cal Ripkin, Jr – 2632 Consecutive Games Played

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Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

This record is as unreachable as any one there is in MLB. The only reason it isn’t first is the odd chance that someone could come along and make a specific point of trying to extend a streak for this long. Ripkin didn’t even plan it I don’t think. He just went out and played every single day for countless seasons. It is truly remarkable.

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2 – Ty Cobb - .366 Career Batting Average

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The Star-Ledger-USA TODAY Sports

Do you know how rare it is to see someone have two seasons in a row with a batting average above .360? It happens but not often. What Ty Cobb was able to accomplish, he did so because of a career of consistently hitting for a very high average. This number includes 8 seasons with a batting average above .380 and 3 seasons with an average above .400. Not convinced it is unbreakable? Ted Williams career batting average is .344. Hopefully that will convince anyone. If Ted Williams’ amazing career didn’t break this record, it will not be broken.

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1 – Pete Rose – 4256 Career Base Hits

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Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

Raise your hand if you knew this was coming. Remember how great we just talked about Ty Cobb being? He had 4189 career hits. You may be one that loves Pete Rose or you might hate his guts for what he was accused of and banned from baseball for. No matter which way you slice it, Rose has more base hits than anyone who ever played the game; even the great Ty Cobb. The next one after Cobb and Rose is Hank Aaron at 3771. To put it in perspective with one of today’s great hitters, Derek Jeter who is 39 years old, would need to average 120 hits for eight seasons to tie Rose’s number. No matter what you think of him for the Hall-of-fame, Rose’s hits record is safe and secure.


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