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RECORDS THAT WILL NEVER BE BROKEN

To most longtime fans, baseball is still the greatest game every invented. Not only do we relish what happens between the lines, but we’ve always loved the numbers – the stats and the records. They’re almost as much a part of the game as the play itself. By the time I went to my first game, somewhere around the age of ten or eleven, I already knew that Babe Ruth had hit 60 home runs in a season and 714 for his career. I also knew that Ty Cobb had 4,191 hits (now revised to 4,189) and had a .367 lifetime batting average (now revised to .366). I loved reading the box scores and all the baseball history I could absorb at that young age.

And it never really stops. You think about the great records that have been set and are actually surprised when some of them are broken. But how about records that will never be broken? Is that possible? After all, it’s often been said that records are made to be broken. Yet in baseball, for various reasons, there are some that may never be broken. I’m just going to mention five of them and give my opinion on why they’ll stand forever. I’m not saying they’re the top five and I’m not putting them in any kind of order. So here they are

Ty Cobb’s lifetime batting average of .366

 This one shouldn’t be surprising. The Georgia Peach was arguably the best player in the Dead Ball Era and what a hitter. Not only did he win 12 batting titles, but took nine in a row between 1907 and 1915. He hit over .400 twice and over .380 on five other occasions. Despite hitting just 117 home runs with the dead ball, he drove in 100 or more runs on seven occasions. That’s hitting.

It’s a no-brainer to realize that no one will ever approach those batting averages again. The game has changed. The best hitter for average in the modern era was Tony Gwynn, who retired with a .338 mark. The great Ted Williams, who some call baseball’s greatest hitter, logged in at .344. With today’s game trending more toward a home run and strikeout game, averages are lower than ever. Ty Cobb is not only safe, he’s miles ahead safe, and so is his record.

Nolan Ryan’s 5,714 Career Strikeouts

This is another untouchable mark. Ryan pitched from 1966 to 1993, being in the minors in 1967. But that’s 27 years. And he was still throwing his great fastball at the age of 46. He fanned more than 300 hitters in a season six times, including a record 383 in 1973. Even though some of today’s pitchers have reached the 300 K mark in a season, they simply don’t pitch enough and won’t last as long as Ryan to even approach his record. And the way they baby pitchers today, along with the epidemic of Tommy John surgeries, Ryan’s longevity stands out as an amazing feat.

Some criticize him for walking too many hitters and even losing too many games. However, his 324-292 lifetime mark included pitching for a lot of bad teams. The one thing he did better than anyone was strike hitters out. Oh yes, then there’s his seven no hitters, another record that will never be matched or broken. He always put on a show.

Pete Rose’s Record of 4,256 Hits

 Pete Rose may be considered a baseball pariah after being given a lifetime ban for betting on baseball, but there’s no denying his greatness or his ability to get base hits. Pete was a switch hitter who played for 24 years, a ferocious competitor who didn’t miss many games and treated each at bat as if it was a war. He went over the 200-hit mark in ten seasons and was the guy who broke Cobb’s hit mark. In today’s game, with hits at a premium, it’s hard to see anyone even approaching his record.

Ironically, the one contemporary player who might have had a chance to top him was Ichiro Suzuki, the Japanese star who came the the majors in 2001 at the age of 27 and proceeded to collect 3,089 hits. He also had 1,278 more in Japan. That’s a total of 4,367 hits in the two leagues, more than Rose. Had Ichiro come to the majors at, say, age 21, he may have broken Pete’s mark. He was a uniquely talented player who bunted often and got a lot of leg hits. His type of player may never be seen again and Rose will remain the hit king always.

Walter Johnson’s 110 Shutouts

 This one is another laugher. The Big Train pitched from 1907 to 1927, mostly in the Dead Ball Era when great pitchers dominated. He was considered one of the fastest pitchers ever with a sidearm delivery that often handcuffed hitters. Not

only was he the first pitcher to reach 3,000 strikeouts for his career, but he won 417 games and completed 531 of them – numbers unheard of today. Grover Cleveland “Pete” Alexander is second with 90 shutouts and also pitched in that era.

With today’s pitchers rarely finishing games due to pitch counts and the crazy parade of relievers we’re seeing, the compete game shutout has become a rarity. Not only will Johnson’s record never be broken, no one will ever remotely challenge it.

Joe Sewell’s Striking Out Just 114 Times In His Career

 This may be an obscure one and today almost impossible to believe, but Joe

Sewell, a little infielder who played for Cleveland and the Yankees between 1920 and 1933, was the hardest man to whiff in the history of the game. In 7,132 at bats, the lefthanded hitting Sewell struck out just 114 times. In 1925, Sewll had 608 official at bats and fanned just four times. Yes, four! Many players today pass his lifetime

total in a single season. But back then players just didn’t like to strike out and Sewell must have disliked it more than anyone. His mantra was put the bat on the ball. There’s no need to discuss why this record will never be broken. It’s obvious. And, yes, Joe Sewell is in the Hall of Fame.

So there are five all time marks I’m sure will never be touched. There are others of course, but I’m going to leave it up to our readers to comment and give me some other records they feel will stand forever. Look forward to hearing from you.

Bill Gutman

As always, we enjoy reading your comments

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Comments:

I would only add that Joe Sewell struck out 114 times in 8,333 plate appearances rather than just at bats. The1,201 times he drew a walk, sacrificed or even got hit by a pitch were times he avoided a strikeout. -Ed Cassidy

Just a footnote to the nice piece on Joe Sewell: Joe used only one (1) bat over the entire course of his 14 year career in the Major Leagues. It was a 40 oz black bat modeled after the bat(s) Ty Cobb used. -Tom Hine

Here are some others I think won’t be touched:

Ted Williams’ career OB% — .482.
Babe Ruth’s career slugging % — .690.
Sam Crawford’s career triples — 309.
Tris Speaker’s career doubles — 792.
Billy Hamilton’s runs scored in one season — 198 (1894).
Rogers Hornsby’s cumulative batting average over 5 consecutive seasons — .401.

-David Anthony Denny

Sam Crawford’s 309 career triples. Never to be closely approached. -Craig Soderberg

Did I miss the listing for Cy Young and his 511 wins? – Ken Simons

Bill, How about Hack Wilson’s single-season RBI total of 191 in 1930? The closest that any modern-day player has come is Manny Ramirez, who had 165 in 1999. -Everett Shockley