They say that records are made to be broken, that if you set a record today, you're only paving the way for someone else to achieve for a higher state of excellence. If you're one of them, you need to take a look at these baseball giants that carved out feats of greatness, such that no one even thinks of getting to where they are.
Through the passing of time, man will always, every once in a while, reach pinnacles at such heights that even the most seasoned professionals don't dare to wander over there. The records that are found in the game of baseball are among them, career highs etched permanently in stone. Whether it's for the perfect pitch or punching holes in the clouds with their exceptional baseball batting, here are eleven of the records that will carry on, seemingly to the end of time.
Unbreakable Baseball Records
#11. Matt Kilroy - Most Batters Struck Out in a Season
The number? 513. That is one record that will
never be broken. Starting 68 games and completing 66 of them, Matthew Aloysius Kilroy, the left-handed pitcher for the Major League Baseball (MLB) team Baltimore Orioles had pitched a total of 583 innings. The thing is, apart from the unbelievable number that you see, the other reason the record stays is because of the major change in rules that today's baseball has from the time Matt played. But it still doesn't take anything away from the legend, who was a rookie at that time.
#10. Joe Sewell - Least Strikeouts
A .300 hitter over 14 seasons, Joe has struck-out 114 times in 7132 at-bats. That's one strike-out for every 63 at-bats, more than what most can even hope for. He massed his record up in 1932, getting 513 at-bats in the season and striking out just three times.
#9. Cal Ripken - Most Consecutive Games Played
His nickname is "Iron Man". That's all you need to know how people felt when he was around. He played for the Baltimore Orioles from 1981-2001. On his 2,131
st consecutive game, he had beaten Lou Gehrig's record that stood for 56 years. But he didn't just beat it, he took it home with him and placed a new number for the world to see; 2,632 games played consecutively in his career. You just can't beat that.
#8. Johnny Vander Meer - Most Consecutive No-Hitters
Nolan Ryan had 7 no-hitters in his career, but what makes a record stand out is if it happens in succession. That's exactly what happened in the case of Johnny Vander Meer, who pitched a no-hitter to the Braves and then the Dodgers four days later. Two no-hitters in a row, part of the 9-game winning streak during the 1938 season should be enough to make sure the record stands tall for a long, long time.
#7. Walter Johnson - Most Shutouts
There's only one person that comes to my mind when you say shutout in baseball, and that's Walter Johnson. With 110 shutouts in his 21-year career, nobody is going to come close to that.
#6. Charles Radbourn - Most Pitching Wins in One Season
Charles was the reason for the 59-12 pitching wins for the Providence Grays. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939.
#5. Mickey Mantle - Most World Series Home Runs
Hitting 18 home runs in the World Series in no joke. Playing for the Yankees from 1951 to 1958, Mickey had a roller coaster type of career. He was famous for what he did and was injured for the rest of the time. But whatever his critics say, the 18 that he hit out of the park will never be forgotten.
#4. Herman Long - Most Errors Committed
Just goes to show that not all records are about reaching for the sky. No one can dig a hole deeper than Herman Long. He played shortstop for a number of teams through his 17 years as a fielder and a shortstop, making a ghastly 1,094 errors in the time, of which 1,070 errors go into his place as shortstop.
#3. Joe DiMaggio - Longest Hitting Streak
Joe was inducted into the baseball hall of fame in 1955, further brightening his life that had 3-time MVP winner and 13-time All-Star written on it. The best part is, he played for 13 years, which means he got elected as an All-Star for every single season he played. Nobody has done that except him. And that's not even the record that he claims as untouchable! His 56-game,1941 hitting streak is what stands alone and far from all other streaks, the closest one being a 44-game streak by Pete Rose in 1978.
#2. Ty Cobb - Highest Batting Average
Widely accepted as one of the best players of all time, Ty Cobb. This was proved when he won most votes in the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, getting 222 out of 226 votes. Throughout his life, Ty set records and sometimes breaking them himself, stopping finally at a total of 90 MLB records. He will always be famous for his mammoth career batting average of .366, one of his records that no one can beat, even today.
#1. Cy Young - Most Victories
The man is a legend. Anyone onto baseball history will tell you he was not a mere mortal. Cy boasts of a 22-year career in baseball, holding his spot as the top pitcher in five teams. He was inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937. The records he holds are old, strong and undeniable. His strongest records have stood for over a century! So which one honors him to hold top slot in the list of unbeatable records? This one has to be his number of wins; slotted 511 victories in his career. The only number that comes close is still 94 games short (Walter Johnson). Cy Young has to be the single most decorated baseball player in history. He also holds other records, like most career innings pitched (7,355) as well as most games completed (749).
So stand the records that may never be broken. People may justify this by saying the situation then was different from what it is now. I say that we now have more things than Cy Young or Ty Cobb ever had; better training, better food. All we need is the will to go out and write our names down in the history books.
