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Last time, I took a look at some of the most famous (and infamous) pitching records. Now, it’s time to look at the hitting records. Unlike many of the pitching records, a good deal of these records can be broken, perhaps even within the next few years. Perhaps this can be attributed to the way the game is played today, with smaller ball parks, bigger players, and weaker pitching. There are still plenty of records that are forever out of reach, but many other records can be broken.
Hitting Records that Will Never Fall:
Career Batting Average: .367, by Ty Cobb (1905-1928)
This record will probably never fall because the kind of hitter that it takes to have a career average this high likely doesn’t exist any longer. Plus, back when Cobb was the greatest hitter in the game, pitching was considerably weaker. Still, I doubt this record can fall now or ever. If a good hitter has a couple seasons with an average below .300, their career average will take a sizeable hit. It’s possible this record could be broken, but it would take an incredibly good, very consistent hitter playing at that level throughout his entire career.
Career Hits: 4256, by Pete Rose (1963-1986)
One of the game’s biggest records, held by the sport’s black sheep, will also never fall. Most hitters these days take their entire careers just to reach 3000 hits. I doubt anyone would ever even get to 4000 again. It would take someone playing at a very high level for probably 20+ seasons to even come close to reaching this record.
Career Runs Scored: 2295+, by Rickey Henderson (1979-present)
Henderson is supposedly still trying to play in the majors, so this record might continue to change until he finally decides to retire. This record is actually a little uncertain, because it’s plausible that the record couple be broken, but I personally doubt anyone could score this many runs in a career again.
Career Stolen Bases: 1406+, by Rickey Henderson
Another record that could potentially grow, this one probably won’t be broken because the running game in baseball isn’t what it used to be. Plus, Henderson was a very fast starting player. There aren’t many starters in the game today that have his kind of speed.
Single-Season Batting Average: .440, by Hugh Duffy (1894)
Duffy had this all-time record back in the day of weak pitching, playing for the Boston Braves. This record will never fall because so far, no one has even come close to hitting .400 for a season average since Ted Williams did it decades ago. Someone will hit .400 again, but no one will come close to .440.
Single-Season Stolen Bases: 138, by Hugh Nicol (1887)
This record won’t be broken simply because the running game isn’t as big a part of the game as it once was. That, and defense – for the most part – has gotten better. Stolen bases are still common, but not frequent enough for anyone to get to even 100 anymore.
Inside-the-Park-Home-Runs, 1 Game: 3, by Tom McCreery
I know it’s a bit of an obscure record, but it’s one I don’t think will ever be broken. You have to have a lot of speed and even more luck just to get one inside the parker, but to get more than even one in a single game is nearly impossible. McCreery set this record on July 12, 1897, playing for the Louisville Colonels.
Records that are Doubtful to Fall:
Career Runs Batted In: 2297, by Hank Aaron (1954-1976)
Hammerin’ Hank is the all-time RBI leader, and he definitely earned that title. This is a very difficult record to reach, but if anyone can do it, Barry bonds can. He’s currently 16th on the list, with 1742 RBIs in his career. It would, however, take a good number of years of high production for him to reach this plateau, so it’s doubtful he can get there.
Career Doubles: 792, by Tris Speaker (1907-1928)
Speaker was one of the best hitters in the early part of the 20th Century, and his career number of doubles probably won’t be touched any time soon. Rafael Palmeiro is 18th on the list with 551 doubles in his career, and Barry Bonds is right behind him at 19th with 544 career doubles to his credit. Unfortunately, both Palmeiro and Bonds are running short on time in their careers, so it’s very doubtful either will be able to come close.
Career Triples: 309, by Sam Crawford (1899-1917)
Crawford had great speed, and accumulated a record number of triples because of it. Triples are somewhat rare these days, because players either hit the ball too soft to get more than a double out of it, or hard enough that the ball goes over the wall for a home run. Usually league-leaders in triples have less than 20 or even 15 for a season, so a player would have to have a very consistent career of 15-20 triples per season to even approach Crawford’s mark.
Career Inside-the-Park-Home-Runs: 51, by Sam Crawford
As mentioned earlier, it takes a lot of speed and luck to even get one inside the park homer. A player is lucky to get maybe a couple in a season, very lucky to get 10-15 for their career. It would take an incredibly lucky mid-level slugger with incredible speed to even begin to approach this mark.
Single-Season Runs Scored: 192, by Billy Hamilton (1894)
This record probably won’t ever be broken any time soon, if ever. Great players score 100 runs every now and then, but going a great deal farther than that is very rare. This record probably won’t be touched again.
Single-Season Hits: 257, by George Sisler (1920)
Sisler set this record playing with the St. Louis Browns (now the Orioles), and it still stands as the highest single-season total in major league history. I don’t think this record will be broken. Good hitters get to 100 hits very frequently. Some great hitters get to – or very close to - 200 hits. The thing is, 200 hits is an incredibly difficult total to reach. Virtually no one has the ability to do that these days, so it is just about untouchable.
Consecutive Games with a Hit: 56, by Joe DiMaggio (5-15-41 to 7-16-41)
A lot of people think this record can be broken, but I’m not convinced yet. Players go on 25-35 game hitting streaks every now and then, but anything beyond 35 is very difficult to accomplish. It would take a special kind of hitter hitting his stride at the exactly prefect time in the schedule in order to break this record. It can happen, yes, but I don’t think it will.
Records that Will Likely Fall, Someday, Somewhere:
Career Home Runs: 755, by Hank Aaron
This is pretty much the biggest record of them all, the one almost everyone wants to see broken. Barry Bonds is the closest active player to Aaron. His 677 career home runs are good for third all- time, just 78 behind Hammerin’ Hank. Bonds is on pace to break this record either late in the 2005 season or early in the 2006 campaign. Still behind Bonds are players like Sammy Sosa, Ken Griffey, Jr., and Alex Rodriguez, each of whom has a fair shot at the home run record.
Career Strikeouts: 2597, by Reggie Jackson (1967-1987)
This is another big record, but not one you’d want to have. Andres Galarraga is currently second on this list with exactly 2000 strikeouts, but it’s beginning to look like his playing days may be over. The next most likely candidate is Sammy Sosa, who has 1977 strikeouts through the 2003 season. Sosa is still 620 strikeouts behind Jackson, but he still has several more years to play, so he could get this record before he retires. Jackson also holds the record for most seasons with 100+ strikeouts, with 18.
Career Walks: 2190+, by Rickey Williams
Another one you might not want to have, but it’s not really a negative record either. Barry Bonds is right behind Williams with 2070 walks (through 2003). It’s only a matter of time until Bonds surpasses Williams and claims the record for himself – much to the displeasure of people like Mike.
Single-Season Home Runs: 73, by Barry Bonds (2001)
Another record that will probably be broken someday, possibly even by Bonds himself. He’s still a beast at the plate, and likely will continue to be until the day he retires. Sosa is another candidate to break this record, along with Griffey.
Single-Season Runs Batted In: 191, by Hack Wilson (1930)
This one will be a little tricky to get, but a power hitter who has an astronomical season could potentially reach and surpass this number. It’s within reason that someone could break it, so it’s probably only a matter of time.
Single-Season Strikeouts: 189, by Bobby Bonds (1970)
This is one several players could break, and have almost broken. Jose Hernandez came the closest, striking out 188 times in 2002. Fans were cheering for him to break the record, but the Brewers’ manager held him out of games at the end of the year to prevent him from doing so – for his sake, I guess. Jim Thome could also break this record, as he struck out 185 times in 2001, and Sammy Sosa could break it sometime as well. Sosa struck out 174 times in 1997, and has several places in the single-season top 30 all-time.
Single-Season Slugging Percentage: .863, by Barry Bonds (2001)
Another incredible number held by Bonds, and he’s probably the guy who could break it. Earlier this season he was slugging well above 1.000, so he can definitely break this record too.
Single-Season Walks: 198, by Barry Bonds (2002)
Yet another record Bonds holds that he is most likely to break. Hell, he might break it this year. Isn’t that right, Mike?
Single-Season Intentional Walks: 68, by Barry Bonds (2002)
This is another record Bonds couple break this season. He already holds the career intentional walks record, with 484 through the 2003 season, and he’ll only be adding to it through the rest of his career.
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