TZ's thread on Zimmerman's streak got me thinking: Which baseball record(s) will never be broken?

[Oeditpus Rex]

I think DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak is a pretty sure bet because of specialized pitching, but one I'm absolutely certain of is Cy Young's 511 lifetime wins. Hell, I doubt another pitcher will ever win 300.

Another is Bob Gibson's 1.12 ERA in '68. That was just freakish.

Also, any records for shutouts and complete games by a pitcher or ball club.



What say you?

[flvegan]

1. No other pitcher will ever throw more No-Hitters than Nolan Ryan.

His record is 7, IIRC. Pitchers today aren't "trained" to go a full 9 over and over and over again. We'll still see them time to time, but nobody will ever throw 8.

On edit: I was one off.

[GOPisEvil]

2. I think Nolan Ryan's strikeout record is safe.

[flvegan]

4. Yeah, nobody's going to touch that one either.

[SoxFan]

3. Cy Young's wins, Nolan Ryan's K's

Not because pitchers are less talented, but because the nature of pitching has changed. The focus on pitch counts means that pitchers will have 2-3 fewer innings per start to collect hits, and fewer opportunities to pick up a win when their team takes a lead anytime after the 6th inning.

The guys who could circumvent this by pitching deep into their 40s tend to be knuckleballers like Tim Wakefield and crafty junkballers like Jaimie Moyer. Notwithstanding Randy Johnson, most power pitchers burn out relatively early.

[Upton]

5. Maybe Ripken's consecutive game streak

Also it's been almost 70 years since Ted Williams was the last player to hit over .400.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

6. What about the stolen bases record? Is it held by Ricky Henderson?

:shrug:

[flvegan]

8. Total? Yes. 1,400+

I agree, I don't think we'll see that again.

[Oeditpus Rex]

10. If you broke that down into steals when his club needed one

he'd have about 37. :D

[flvegan]

12. If that.

I tell you, watching Carl Crawford (Rays) this past series against the BoSox was something. Madoff would have to admire his skills at theft.

[flvegan]

7. Babe Ruth's career Slugging avg will stand forever.

.690 over 22 years. Nope, never again.

[Oeditpus Rex]

9. Heebus, I wasn't aware of that

Most guys don't do that in a season. Over 22 years?!? :wow:

Means he hit a helluva lot more'n just homers, and now I gotta look it up.



Okay — 506 doubles, an average of 23 per year, and 136 triples for an average of 6.2. Not a helluva lot, but let's remember that he was strictly a pitcher in his first four seasons. Also, he had only 10 at-bats in his first season and only 72 in his last one.

Ruth also has the all-time OPS of 1.164. So, every time he came to bat, he was worth at least one base, statistically speaking. Un-fucking-real.

[Jetboy]

27. That's why I rate Ruth as the greatest baseball player ever.

His hitting numbers make up for not being Willie Mays on the basepaths or in the field. 100+ wins as a pitcher doesn't hurt Ruth's case either. I think that the year he hit over twice as many HRs as the next best slugger in baseball solidified my opinion. THAT is something that will never happen again.

[JTG of the PRB]

11. I wrote an article about this very idea a few years ago... Can't find it at the moment.

I went through looking at big records to see which would likely be broke n and which would never be broken. One that really stood out to me was the record of 48 losses in a season by a single pitcher, 48, set by Philadelphia's John Coleman.

Of course, that WAS back in 1883, so I suppose that number is a tad skewed.

[Oeditpus Rex]

14. Wasn't that the year Hoss Radbourne won 60?

Back when pitchers worked pretty much every game — where "worked" means "Went at least nine innings." 'Course, they didn't usually play every day back then, since airline schedules were unreliable. :D

Relievers were called "change pitchers" in those days. They were typically a starter at another position who could pitch, and when they came in they'd just switch positions with the outgoing pitcher.

[KitchenWitch]

13. Everyone has pretty much mentioned all of the records I thought of.

:hi:

I think for sure that Cal Ripken Jr.'s consecutive game streak is secure.

[flvegan]

15. Ripken's streak is a given.

Most players today sit it out with "tightness" in a hamstring.

Yaz played with cracked ribs after colliding with the Green Monster. I don't think we have many players like that anymore.

[Oeditpus Rex]

16. If any of the 'untouchables' are touchable, I'd say it's that one

If only because conditioning is so advanced since even Ripken's day.

OTOH, any sort of longevity streak means you're playing hurt sometimes, and guys don't play hurt like they did before clubs had such an investment in them that they get an MRI if their elbow itches.

[Forkboy]

17. Glen Hall's 502 straight games in goal for the Chicago Blackhawks.

That's every minute of every game for 8 straight seasons. Minus a mask even!



Ok, it ain't baseball, but it's a fucking great record, so there. :P

[EFerrari]

18. No Giants shortstop will ever flirt with my mom, my godmother

me AND my cousin Julie in his rookie year ever again.



lol

[Oeditpus Rex]

19. The All-American Boy??

Damned fine shortstop, though. And he could hit a little.

[Blue_Tires]

20. Ty Cobb - .367 career average

11 batting titles
54 steals of home

Hack Wilson - 190 RBI

[madinmaryland]

21. Hank Aaron's home run record. At least anyone who has broken

it will always have an asterisk after his name.

[JonLP24]

22. Orel Hershiser 59 connsecutive scoreless innings pitched

Very rare feat to be accomplished. Look at the previous record holders

Orel Hershiser 59 1988
Don Drysdale 58 1968
Walter Johnson 55 1913

With all these batter friendly parks that record will stand for quite some time if not forever.

[TZ]

23. Ripken's streak

And maybe...I'm not sure if 300 wins for a pitcher is gonna be seen again anytime soon

[bigwillq]

24. Ripken's streak.

Most players nowadays don't have love for the game like some of the old-timers did. Most only care about the paycheck. Plus, it takes some luck to stay that healthy.

[Richardo]

25. Throwing a no-hitter on acid

RIP Dock Ellis.

[Jetboy]

28. Ellis, D (LSD)

That's how is name looked in the phonebook!

[Richardo]

29. HA! Never saw that before

:thumbsup:

[Richardo]

26. Combined six-pitcher no-hitter - Astros over Yankees 2003.

http://www.astrosdaily.com/history/20030611/ :thumbsup:

[Tommy_Carcetti]

30. I'd like to say Cal's streak, but then again, they said that about Gehrig's streak.

They even engraved it in stone that it was a record that would never be broken.


I think Dimaggio's 56 game hit streak will stand the test of time. As will Cy Young's 511 wins.