Major League Baseball is in full swing as we are in the second month of the season. So far this year, baseball has seen comeback wins, great pitching, and even a no-hitter. Baseball has many records that may never be broken.
Mariano Rivera was one of the best closers in all of baseball. He started closing for the New York Yankees until 1996 and did it for 18 years. Rivera was one of the best, using his cut fastball, the pitch that struck out most of the batters he faced. When he retired in 2013, he saved 652 games for the New York Yankees, breaking Trevor Hoffman’s’ record of 601. The active leader in Major League Baseball is Francisco Rodriguez, the closer for the Detroit Tigers who has 393, or 259 saves behind Rivera. This record should stay unbroken, because it is difficult to record that many saves over an MLB career.
Another save record that won’t be broken is consecutive saves. Eric Gagne was tough to hit against when he came into the game for the L.A. Dodgers. Gagne went on to have a streak of 84 consecutive saves that started on August 8th 2002 and ended July 2004 when he finally blew a save against the Arizona Diamondbacks. That was almost two years of being perfect at saving games at the end.
On offense for Major League Baseball it’s all about getting hits. This assists the team in getting base runners and having them score. The most hits in a Major League Baseball career is 4,526 by Pete Rose. Alex Rodriquez of the New York Yankees has the most in today’s game with 3,084 and is only 1,442 behind Pete Rose. Rodriquez would need to play at least seven more seasons if he has 200 hits per season to break it.
When a batter is on base, stealing bases could be the difference in winning and losing a game. A stolen base puts a man in scoring position. It is tricky to even steal a base because the catcher could throw the base runner out at third or second depending on which base they want to advance to. Rickey Henderson stole a total of 1,406 bases during his 24-year career. Carl Crawford, who suits up for the Dodgers, has 480. Crawford needs 926 stolen bases over his career to tie Henderson.
Cal Ripken Jr. never missed a game, playing in a total of 2,632 games in a row. The streak started on May 30th, 1982 and ended on September 19, 1998. That was 16 years in a row without taking a day off. In today’s game, players always receive an off day to rest. There isn’t anybody close to this record and it might never be broken. These are just a few of the records in Major League Baseball that won’t ever be shattered.
Which record in Major League Baseball do you think won’t ever be broken?
Thanks Brian for the comment. That is true for sure that Joe D’s hitting streak won’t be broken.