11 MLB Records That Will Never Be Broken

Major League Baseball has a history stretching back to the 1870s, and tens of thousands of players have earned the right to play in at least one game during its history. That includes a number of legends who not only earned a spot in the record book but set one that will almost certainly never be topped.

Every sport has at least a handful of records that are widely considered unbreakable due to a player who was simply built different, and baseball is no exception.

There’s no shortage of examples to choose from when it comes to the MLB, but it’s hard to imagine anyone will ever be able to top these incredibly impressive achievements.

Most Career Wins: 511

Baseball has come a long way since its inception, and that’s especially true when it comes to the pitchers who shouldered an almost unfathomable workload compared to modern-day hurlers.

There are subsequently a number of pitching records no player will ever come close to breaking, so I’m focusing on some of the most notable on a fairly lengthy list.

We’ll kick things off with Cy Young, as the man who lends his name to the trophy awarded to the best pitcher in the league each season, racked up 511 wins during his 22 MLB seasons (I’m trying not to repeat players, but no one is ever going to top the 749 complete games he tossed either).

Walter Johnson sits in second place with a relatively paltry 417, while Justin Verlander leads all active MLB players with just 262.

Most Innings Pitched In A Single Game: 26

This is somehow a two-way tie, although as you can probably guess, both men who hold the record secured it in the same game.

On May 1, 1920, the Brooklyn Dodgers and Boston Braves faced off in what remains the longest game in MLB history—a 26-inning marathon that ended in a 1-1 tie after it was called on account of darkness.

Brooklyn’s Leon Cadore and Boston’s Joe Oeschger were on the mound for every single inning; their pitch count wasn’t officially recorded, but it’s believed the former delivered around 300 while the latter was closer to 250.

Most Career Strikeouts: 5,714

Nolan Ryan is one of the most dominant pitchers to ever take to the mound, and nothing sums up that reality than the number of strikeouts he recorded during his 27 seasons in the MLB (which, along with his seven no-hitters, is a record that may also never be broken).

The ace ended up with 5,714 Ks before he retired in 1993; Randy Johnson has the silver medal with 4,875, while Verlander is yet again the active leader with 3,416.

Most Career Home Runs: 762

This one obviously comes with an asterisk due to the steroid use that made it possible and is also one of the biggest reasons it will never be broken.

There’s no telling how many home runs Barry Bonds would have hit if he hadn’t gotten some help from PEDs; it seems unlikely he would have passed Hank Aaron’s mark of 755 without them, but he was also a talented player who probably would have ended up near the top of the list if he’d been clean.

Could another power slugger eventually emerge to challenge Bonds? Possibly, but when you consider Giancarlo Stanton leads active players with 429 heading into his 16th season (he’s averaged 28.6 per year compared to Bonds’ 34.6), we’re going to have to wait a long time.

Most Consecutive Games Played: 2,632

This one is interesting when you consider many people thought no one would ever be able to surpass the “Iron Man” record Lou Gehrig set when he played 2,130 games without missing a single one.

However, Cal Ripken Jr. was eventually able to do exactly that when he broke the record in 1995 before the unreal run came to an end after 2,632 games when he voluntarily brought the streak to an end ahead of Baltimore’s final home game of the 1998 season.

Longest Hitting Streak: 56 Games

Hitting streaks are a combination of the luck and skill that Joe DiMaggio harnessed in 1941 to break the record of 45 Willie Keeler had previously set en route to getting a hit in 56 consecutive games.

It does seem like there’s a chance the stars could align for someone else at some point, but no player has managed to break it close to 85 years later (Pete Rose was the closest with a 44-game hitting streak in 1978).

Speaking of Pete Rose…

Most Career Hits: 4,256

There’s zero doubt Pete Rose would be in the Hall of Fame if not for the whole “banned for life due to gambling” thing, as he was simply one of the purest hitters to ever play in the MLB.

That’s reflected in the 4,256 hits he had in his 24 seasons, which was enough to break the record of 4,189 that was previously set by Ty Cobb; Freddie Freeman leads active players with 2,267.

Most Hits In A Season: 262

You didn’t want to let Ichiro Suzuki get on base based on what he was able to do with his legs, but preventing him from reaching a bag was much easier said than done.

Prior to the start of the 2004 season, George Sisler held the record for the most hits in a year thanks to the 257 he had in 1920, but Ichiro was ultimately able to outdo him with 262.

Michael Young is the player who’s come closest since then with the 221 hits he had in 2005—at least if you ignore the other three occasions where Ichiro had more than that after he set the record.

Most Stolen Bases In A Single Season: 130

You really, really, really did not want to let  Ricky Henderson get on base, as a steal attempt was almost always a matter of “when” as opposed to “if.”

In 1982, Henderson attempted to swipe a bag 172 times and was successful on 130 occasions, which was enough to surpass the record of 118 steals Lou Brock had eight years prior.

It’s also safe to assume Henderson will never have to worry about losing the career record of 1,406; Brock is second with 938, while Starling Marte leads active players with…354.

Most RBIs In A Single Season: 191

It’s been close to a century since Hack Wilson had 191 RBI as a member of the Cubs in 1930 to break the record of 173 that Lou Gehrig had set three years before.

Gehrig gave him a run for his money with 185 in 1931 before Hank Greenberg posted 184 in 1937, and Manny Ramirez is the only player to come remotely close to that total since the invention of the color television with the 165 he had in 1999.

Highest Batting Average In A Single Season: .466

This one also comes with a slight asterisk, as Josh Gibson achieved this wild feat in the Negro League in 1943—close to 80 years before the MLB decided to recognize stats from that organization in its official record book (Hugh Duffy previously held the distinction with a .440 batting average in 1894).

Gibson is also responsible for the highest career batting average at .372 (Ty Cobb was previously in first place at .366).