# MLB records that never will be broken. **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [September 22, 2016, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-records-that-never-will-be-broken/766553 "2016-09-22T01:06:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2016, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-records-that-never-will-be-broken/766553/41 "2016-09-24T11:12:32Z")
Here’s a tough one to beat: Consecutive batters retired by a relief pitcher: 26 by Ernie Shore June 23, 1917. The game was started by Babe Ruth, who walked the first batter and got into a fight with the umpire (actually throwing punches). Ernie Shore came in to relieve the ejected Ruth, the runner that Ruth left him was caught stealing and Shore retired the 26 batters he faced. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2016, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-records-that-never-will-be-broken/766553/42 "2016-09-24T11:23:36Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Lots of excellent posts, but here is the only one that, guaranteed, will never be broken: > > (spoilered in case anyone wants to guess) > > Lowest paid attendance for a MLB game: Zero. Orioles vs. White Sox, April 29, 2015. > > mmm Is there an interesting story behind this? Just curious. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2016, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-records-that-never-will-be-broken/766553/43 "2016-09-24T11:27:29Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Is there an interesting story behind this? Just curious. This was following the civil unrest in Baltimore and they weren’t confident that they the city could maintain order. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2016, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-records-that-never-will-be-broken/766553/44 "2016-09-24T12:44:02Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > This was following the civil unrest in Baltimore and they weren’t confident that they the city could maintain order. Ah, thanks. I get it now – a record that could be repeated (some similar circumstances could arise someday)…but never _beaten_: Can’t have -1 people! Ha – good one. ---
**Author:** ![McReaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@McReaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/McReaper)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2016, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-records-that-never-will-be-broken/766553/45 "2016-09-24T15:57:15Z")
St. Louis 6 vs. New York 2, 55 minutes on 09-26-1926. Given the length of in between inning commercials alone now (~ 35 minutes), this record can never be broken. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2016, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-records-that-never-will-be-broken/766553/46 "2016-09-24T16:02:41Z")
> [@leftfield6](#): > > Oldest player: > > Minnie Miñoso, (54) > > Just too much talent coming up through organizations. A few players have gotten close to 50 within the last few decades (Julio Franco, 48 and Jamie Moyer, 49), but no one is getting to 54 again. Given that this was basically a publicity stunt (all of two at-bats by a one-time great player), it’s not impossible that someone else will be resurrected for a curtain call when they’re older (unlikely though, given the stuffed-shirtism of baseball’s rulers). I think it’s not unlikely that DiMaggio’s batting streak will be “broken”, given sportswriters’ penchant for extending a batter’s hitting streaks from one season to the next in an effort to drum up interest in a phony record chase. I mentioned this in another thread, but I doubt a pitcher will ever again win 20+ games in a season while losing 30 (something Phenomenal Smith did for the Baltimore Orioles in 1887 - W25, L30). ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2016, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-records-that-never-will-be-broken/766553/47 "2016-09-24T18:06:31Z")
> [@McReaper](#): > > St. Louis 6 vs. New York 2, 55 minutes on 09-26-1926. > > Given the length of in between inning commercials alone now (~ 35 minutes), this record can never be broken. Are _all_ MLB games broadcast on TV ? ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2016, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-records-that-never-will-be-broken/766553/48 "2016-09-24T23:06:31Z")
The famous 26 inning tie (called because of darkness) between Brooklyn (the Robins, not the Dodgers) and the Boston Braves produced some records that won’t be broken any time soon. _Both_ pitchers went the distance establishing records not only for most innings pitched in a game, but also most innings pitched in a game without a decision. Neither pitcher would be ready for another outing for over a week. While the number of innings is still the record, the game also produced a record for number of consecutive scoreless innings (20). Neither team scored after the sixth inning. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2016, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-records-that-never-will-be-broken/766553/49 "2016-09-25T01:04:29Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > Are _all_ MLB games broadcast on TV ? If not, on the radio where there are still commercial breaks. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2016, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-records-that-never-will-be-broken/766553/50 "2016-09-25T03:38:14Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > I mentioned this in another thread, but I doubt a pitcher will ever again win 20+ games in a season while losing 30 (something Phenomenal Smith did for the Baltimore Orioles in 1887 - W25, L30). On a related subject, I seriously doubt we’ll ever see someone win 30+ games in a season. Denny McLain, who won 31 playing for Detroit in 1968, was the last one and even that was a bit of an anomaly. ---
**Author:** ![Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d9b06d/32.png) [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2016, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-records-that-never-will-be-broken/766553/51 "2016-09-25T04:56:22Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > Errors in a career and in a single season: Herman Long owns or shares both records (1096 career errors, 122 in a season). Better field conditions, better gloves, and an intolerance for poor defensive skills make these records unbreakable. As long as guys like Brad Miller and Adrian Beltre can keep starting jobs with their bats, I believe that at least the career number here could possibly be broken. 122 in a season is pretty safe. Okay, never mind. I just looked up Beltre, and he only has 296 (and it turns out he’s the current active leader.) I wasn’t thinking that 1000 career errors means 20 years of 50 errors per year. Dear lord. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2016, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-records-that-never-will-be-broken/766553/52 "2016-09-26T20:10:57Z")
I’m surprised no one has mentioned Nolan Ryan’s 7 no-hitters. I don’t see that record being broken anytime soon. I did some light Google searching and I think the nearest active player right now may only have 2 (Jake Arrieta). ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2016, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-records-that-never-will-be-broken/766553/53 "2016-09-26T20:56:27Z")
> [@Enright3](#): > > I’m surprised no one has mentioned Nolan Ryan’s 7 no-hitters. I don’t see that record being broken anytime soon. > I did some light Google searching and I think the nearest active player right now may only have 2 (Jake Arrieta). Scherzer had two in the same season. ETA: I should add that, while there are several pitchers who have done it twice in a year, I don’t think that one’s likely to be broken, either. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2016, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-records-that-never-will-be-broken/766553/54 "2016-09-26T23:30:58Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > Errors in a career and in a single season: Herman Long owns or shares both records (1096 career errors, 122 in a season). Better field conditions, better gloves, and an intolerance for poor defensive skills make these records unbreakable. Didn’t notice this one the first time around - I think this one is even more unbreakable than the pitching records. I could imagine medical advances making it possible for an ace pitcher to pitch every other game (or every game!), but it’s hard to imagine what might boost error rates back up to dead-ball levels. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2016, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-records-that-never-will-be-broken/766553/55 "2016-09-27T00:09:43Z")
Here’s a record theoreticaly unbreakable: Number of brothers in the same outfield at the same time (Alou brothers, three times for the SF giants in September 1963). Possible but extremely unlikely to break: 4 strikeouts in one inning (done several times). Possible but exceedingly unlikely: more than three outs in one inning. Under the rules of baseball it could happen on appeal play that prevented a run from scoring, but has never happened. My son holds an unlikely record: Most games witnessed that ended on a game-ending triple play. The last two such (out of seven, I think, in ML history), one in NY in 2009 (unassisted no less–I was there too), and one in Montreal in 1991. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2016, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-records-that-never-will-be-broken/766553/56 "2016-09-27T00:57:38Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > Possible but extremely unlikely to break: 4 strikeouts in one inning (done several times). Kelly Wunsch, a pitcher in the Milwaukee (?) system, struck out five in an inning in a minor league game back in 1994. Of course the minors are different from the majors, but as you say, it’s possible. I for one would love to see it happen… ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2016, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-records-that-never-will-be-broken/766553/57 "2016-09-27T17:45:50Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > That is as compared to truly “unbreakable” records, of which this thread has really identified two types: > > \*\*1. Freak occurrences that cannot be broken unless something once-in-a-million-years freakish happens. \*\* Vandermeer’s two straight no hitters, which is a record only “Broken” if someone throws three, or Tatis’s two grand slams in one inning. > > **2. Records made unbreakable by changes in the way the game is played**. Basically every pitching record for endurance is now unbreakable because pitchers don’t pitch very much anymore; the standards for complete games and such are wildly different from just 30-35 years ago, and 30-35 years ago the way pitchers were used in the dead ball era was unthinkable. The only way someone’s going to win 42 games in a season or pitch 750 complete games or whatever is if baseball as a sport is radically changed, like if they make games 5 innings long or something. Excellent post. Also worth noting another fundamental change to the game, in that it’s much more widely played than it was in the early days. Besides for the black and Latino players, there’s also the (even bigger, IMHO) factor in that the pay scale has vastly improved to the point where anyone who can play baseball will (unless they can play some other sport). It’s not like people who can be MLB players or accountants are going to spend much time thinking about which to choose. The implication of this is that the top talent in baseball really is the top talent in the country. And what this does is it lessens the spread between the top tier and the next tier. By contrast, back in the real old old days, the pay scale wasn’t nearly what it is now, and many potentially talented players opted for other careers. This means that the dropoff between the top tier and the next tier was greater. The upshot of all this is that there are certain levels of complete dominance that are harder to achieve now than were possible in the early days of the game, and some records that are a lot harder to match as a result. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2016, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-records-that-never-will-be-broken/766553/58 "2016-09-27T18:19:32Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > My son holds an unlikely record: Most games witnessed that ended on a game-ending triple play. The last two such (out of seven, I think, in ML history), one in NY in 2009 (unassisted no less–I was there too), and one in Montreal in 1991. This is my favorite one of the thread. I wonder if there’s any way to verify it? ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2016, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-records-that-never-will-be-broken/766553/59 "2016-09-27T23:53:50Z")
How about career or single season triples? Records have stood for many years… Brian ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2016, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-records-that-never-will-be-broken/766553/60 "2016-09-27T23:56:41Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > How about career or single season triples? Records have stood for many years… > > Brian Post #5 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-records-that-never-will-be-broken/766553.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-records-that-never-will-be-broken/766553.md?page=4)