’Pen Pal
WE'VE all heard the saying, "Some records are made to be broken." Some records will
never be brokenIn baseball, there are definitely those records that can be broken, while there are those that in no way will ever be topped.
For years, people said that Babe Ruth's homer records were unreachable. His 60 round-trippers in a season and his 714 career total seemed impossible to beat, but were eventually passed.
There are numerous stats -- too numerous to mention -- that show achievements that would be hard to beat. So I've selected the ones that are popular topics in baseball circles.
So here are "Pal's Picks" for the baseball records that will never, ever be broken:
1 >> Jack Chesbro's 41 wins as a pitcher in 1904. The people playing the game then were different, some say even tougher. Think about it -- to win 41 games in today's game, a guy would have to start every four games in the Major League season and win all of them to even come close.
2 >> Cy Young's career pitching records. He remains first all time in career starts (815), complete games (749) and wins (511).
To start 815 games, a pitcher today would have to pitch every fifth game of the schedule -- around 30 starts per season -- for over 27 years. Winning 511 games would require a 20-win season for 2512 years.
3 >> Nolan Ryan's seven no-hitters (full nine-inning games). The closest person is Sandy Koufax, with four. Just won't be done.
4 >> Bob Gibson's 1.12 ERA. In 1968, Gibson had the monster year, with a record of 22-9 and the sparkling ERA. With today's emphasis on power and conditioning, that record is untouchable. Too good to top.
5 >> Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak. He hit safely in consecutive games for over one-third of the season.
With pitching being segmented with starters, long relievers, set-up guys and closers, this record will remain intact. Untouchable.
6 >> Ty Cobb's career .366 batting average. The only player in the past 20 years listed in the top 20 is Tony Gwynn, with a .338 average. Too good to fall.
7 >> Hack Wilson's 190 RBIs in a season. Manny Ramirez came the closest of today's players with 165 in 1999. That many ribbies means well over one RBI per game for the entire 162-game schedule. Tough to beat.
8 >> Cal Ripken's 2,632 consecutive game streak. He was with the right organization at the right time, and he brought a tremendous talent to the park each day. A true iron man.
9 >> Rickey Henderson's stolen base records: Career thefts (1,370) and season total (130). Now I've never been a Rickey Henderson fan, but his records do show amazing ability. No one runs like this in today's game. Unbelievable.
THESE ARE my choices. Are some of them yours?
There are many important records not mentioned, but there is simply not enough space to mention more.
All of them recognize outstanding talent, determination, perseverance and, in some, maybe all, cases, a little bit of luck.
Pal Eldredge is a baseball commentator for KFVE
and former varsity baseball coach at Punahou School.
His column runs Mondays during the Major League Baseball season.
Star-Bulletin sports can be reached at 529-4785 or: sports@starbulletin.com