Welcome back to another Humm Baby Baseball countdown and today we’re talking about some of the most unbreakable career records in Major League Baseball. Simply due to the way the sport evolved, there are records in baseball that barring unimaginable changes that could take several hundred years, simply cannot and will not be broken. The 15 records I’ll be talking about today will not be broken in any of our lifetimes, and if any of them are, comment down below that I was wrong. I probably won’t respond, though, because I’ll probably be dead by the time any of these records get broken. I will discuss some of what would have to happen for it to even be possible to break some of these records, and what would have to happen would usually be extreme to the point that not even Rob Manfred could make the kind of changes that would have to happen for these records to become at risk. Also, to make the list more manageable, I’m only focusing on career and consecutive game records, not single-season or single-game records, and I’m also not including negative records like most balks or most wild pitches.

So, let’s get into it, and we’ll progress towards #1, which will be the most unbreakable record in the game. But before hitting the top 15, I have one single honorable mention that didn’t quite make the main list. This is a record that will be very very difficult to break, but I wouldn’t quite call it unbreakable.

Honorable Mention: Most Career HR’s – Barry Bonds: 762 Hrs

The only reason this one didn’t make the Top 15 is because I think it is possible that a gifted and insanely powerful slugger comes along someday – some one similar to Aaron Judge except much less injury prone. If a player like that did come along and averaged about 45 home runs per season for 16 years, they could approach the record and have a shot at breaking it. However, it would take a very special player to do so. With P.E.D. testing, that player would not have the benefit of steroids to help them. They would have to be some one like an Albert Pujols without the decline he had in his later years. Pujols still hit 703, proving it can be done. Still, I would be surprised to see this record fall in the next 20 years. However, I do think within the next 20-50, it could happen. Young players are hitting more home runs than ever and with changes in the game to improve offense, another big offensive era could be on the way soon, and with the right player, this record could be in jeopardy. Now let’s move onto the main list.

#15 Most Career Doubles – Tris Speaker: 792 Doubles

Starting right off the bat with a record from the early 20th Century, Tris Speaker was an absolute doubles machine, leading the league 8 times and hitting at least 50 4 times. He consistently hit doubles for over 20 years and for any player to get close, they would have to average 40 doubles for 20 straight seasons. I will rank this one at #15 because players do commonly hit over 40 doubles – Freddie Freeman hit 59 last season. But with the way players get injured now, and with the smaller ballparks and bigger focus on the long ball, I don’t see any one touching this record anytime soon. However, if the right player comes along, hits around 40 doubles per season, stays incredibly healthy and consistent for 20+ years, this one could be in danger someday – but I wouldn’t bet on it.

#14 Career Total Bases – Hank Aaron: 6,856 Total Bases

Next up is a record that might seem breakable considering Albert Pujols, who only recently retired, is second all-time in total bases with 6,211. But even he came 645 total bases shy despite playing for 22 years. Barry Bonds, who put up video game numbers for many years and of course hit 762 home runs, didn’t even break 6,000. So, how did Hammerin’ Hank accumulate nearly 7,000 total bases in his career? It’s a simple combination of elite performance, lack of injuries, and extreme longevity. For 22 straight seasons, Aaron averaged 146 games per season even though during the early part of his career, the season was just 154 games long. In other words, Aaron almost never missed a game for over 20 years and he was a doubles and home run machine the entire time. He led the league in total bases 8 times and had over 300 total bases in 15 separate seasons. He even reached 400 total bases in 1959. Since then, only 8 players have reached 400 total bases in a season and it hasn’t happened since 2001. To break Aaron’s record, a player will have to average 343 total bases for 20 years. For context on how difficult that is, Mike Trout, despite 3 MVPs, has never had more than 339 in a season.

#13 Most Career No-Hitters – Nolan Ryan: 7 No-Hitters

The no-hitter is such a rare occasion that pitchers dream of just doing it once. Every time it happens, it’s a huge story and almost always, the first and last no-hitter of a pitchers career. Only the elite of the elite are expected to it more than once. For example, future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander has done it an incredible 3 times. The great Sandy Koufax did it 4 times. But neither came close to record – an absolutely ridiculous 7 no-hitters thrown by Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan. He threw no-hitters across 3 different decades – 4 in the 70’s, 1 in the 80’s and 2 more in the 90’s, with the final one coming at the age of 44. The likelihood of any pitcher ever throwing more than 3 no-hitters is almost non-existent, but there is absolutely no way some one will throw 7 again much less 8, which would break the record. This is especially true in the modern analytical era where managers actually remove pitchers during a no-hit bid. One of the few talents who had the ability to throw multiple no-hitters never got the chance, because Clayton Kershaw has been pulled more than once while working on a no-hitter. On one occasion, he had a perfect game through 7 and had only thrown 80 pitches when Dave Roberts pulled the cord on the no-hit and perfect game bid. To date, Kershaw has just one no-hitter.

#12 Most Career Hits – Pete Rose: 4,256 Hits

While Pete Rose was certainly an elite ballplayer who could hit like few others, one of the biggest reasons he has so many hits is the fact that he stayed healthy and played for so long – a 24 year career, from the age of 21 all the way up until 45. Very few ballplayers last that long anymore as it is more of a young man’s game than ever before. But even if a player did last 24 years, they would have to do so mostly healthy while maintaining excellence, accumulating around 200 hits per season. Rose managed around 700 plate appearances per season, rarely missing a game, for over 20 years, and had at least 190 hits 12 times. Even some one like Ronald Acuna Jr., who had 217 hits last season, is not on track to catch Rose, because he has only had 2 fully healthy and complete seasons. The active leader is Freddie Freeman, who is about halfway there with 2,146 hits. He would have to average 200 hits for the next 10 years just to get close to Rose. At that time, Freeman would be 44 years old.

#11 Career Walks – Barry Bonds: 2,558 Walks

The only player who could ever challenge this record would be one like Bonds, who has an elite knowledge of the strike zone and can also strike so much fear into the opposing team, that they might walk him intentionally with the bases loaded. Bonds walked so much, that the gap between him and his nearest challenger, the previous recordholder Rickey Henderson, is 368 walks. The active player who is closest to the record is Joey Votto and he’s just barely halfway there with 1,365. Bonds led the league in walks in 12 of his final 16 seasons and maxed out at absolutely insane 232 walks in 2004. On the single-season walks record list, he is #1, #2 and #3. In 2023, the walks leader was Juan Soto with 132. He would have to repeat that for 20 straight years to come close to Bonds record. In other words, Barry Bonds walk record is completely safe and basically unbreakable.

#10 Longest Hitting Streak – Joe Dimaggio: 56 Games

Unlike most of the other records on this list, this one that only takes about 2 months to break. It’s also one that no player has even come close to. This day in age, even a 20 game hitting streak is rare and that would put a player just about 35% of the way there. The only player to make a serious run at the record was Pete Rose back in 1978, but even he fell 12 short despite breaking a National League record with a hit in 44 straight games – a record that stands to this day and is also unlikely to be broken any time soon. The most recent player to even challenge 44 was Paul Molitor, who had a hit in 39 straight games. Since then, 30+ hitting streaks have only gotten more rare as pitchers improve and batting averages drop. On the rare occasion, a player might hit 30, such as Whit Merrifield and Freddie Freeman in 2016, but the streak always ends around 30. To break Dimaggio’s record, a player would have to a have a hit in 30 consecutive games and then continue that for another 27 – an unfathomable feat even in Joe Dimaggio’s time, much less in the modern game.

#9 Career On-Base Percentage: Ted Williams: .482 OBP

The fact that not even Barry Bonds, one of the best hitters to ever live and one who was given free passes like candy, could break this record tells you everything you need to know. When Ted Williams stepped up to the plate, there was almost a 50/50 chance he would reach base, something that is absolutely unheard of in today’s game. The best active player at getting on base is probably Juan Soto, and he has a .421 career on-base-percentage, 19th best all time, and 62 points short of Williams. In fact, there are only 3 active players with enough plate appearances to be considered for the record, who even have an on-base percentage above .400: Soto, Mike Trout and Joey Votto. Simply put, no one can come close to this record against modern day pitching. If Bonds couldn’t do it, no one can.

#8 Most Career Strikeouts – Nolan Ryan: 5,714 Strikeouts

It’s amazing that this one makes the list as the recordholder isn’t some one from the early days of baseball – it’s Nolan Ryan, who pitched through the 1993 season. Also, the record is something that happens a lot these days – strikeouts. Pitchers are striking out batters like never before. So, why would this record be unbreakable? Well, simply put – no pitcher has ever come close to Nolan Ryan. Also, things have changed even since Ryan’s career – with the advent of pitch counts, pitchers don’t go as deep into games, with even today’s best starting pitchers rarely completing their games. They also get injured far more often. So, a pitcher like Clayton Kershaw, who has a better career strikeout per 9 ratio than Ryan, only has 2,944 career K’s, still an impressive number but nowhere close to Ryan, because he has pitched in less than half the amount of total innings. Ryan threw 222 complete games in his career compared to Kershaw’s 25. The closest active leader to Ryan is Max Scherzer with 3,367, still nowhere close to Ryan.

#7 Most Career Triples – Sam Crawford: 309 Triples

The only hit more rare than a home run is the triple, and the current active leader in career triples is Charlie Blackmon with 63. He could play until he’s 63 and still wouldn’t be close to Sam Crawford’s 309 triples. Due to the way the game changed in the 20’s with the arrival of Babe Ruth and the end of the dead ball era, ballparks have gotten smaller and triples have gotten more and more rare. Outfielders also have stronger arms and players who prioritize speed over power are not very common. These days, hitting more than 10 triples in a season is a major feat. In 2023, the MLB leader in triples was Bobby Witt Jr. with 11. He would have to repeat that number year after year for 28 years to catch Crawford.

#6 Highest Career Batting Average – Ty Cobb: .366

Assuming a minimum of 3,000 plate appearances, there is no way any player gets close to a career .366 batting average any time soon. In fact, I’d also say that no one touches Ted Williams career average of .344. With the insane improvements in velocity and spin in recent decades – which of course led to all these Tommy John surgeries, but that’s a topic for another video – just hitting over .300 is a huge accomplishment. The last time a player hit over .366 in a single season was 20 years ago when Ichiro hit .372 in 2004. Some players have come close since then, but we’re just talking about doing it in a single season. Last year, Luis Arraez won a Silver Slugger with an absolutely incredible .354 batting average – still 12 points shy of Ty Cobb’s career average. To put it even more clearly why this record is unbreakable, on the list of career batting average leaders, no one who has played in the past 50 years is even in the Top 20.

#5 Most Consecutive Games Played – Cal Ripken Jr.: 2,632 Games

The only reason this record comes in this low is because if I was to make this same list back in the early 80’s when Ripken started his career, I have no doubt I would’ve ranked Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games record at close to if not #1. Yet, that record was breakable because of the absolute machine that was Cal Ripken Jr. So, could another Iron Man come along someday and play every day for over 16 seasons? It seems highly unlikely. Nowadays, with analytics taking over, players are given more days off and it’s extremely rare to even see one play in 162 games of a single season. Furthermore, injuries are more prominent than ever and teams won’t let their star player just play through injuries like Ripken was allowed to do. But the biggest reason why this record is so unbreakable – even the best players these days don’t play in 2,632 games in their career period, much less consecutively. Only 2 active players – Joey Votto and Andrew McCutchen have played in more than 2,000 games at all. The current active leader in consecutive games played in Matt Olson and he’s somewhere around 300 – just 2,323 short of Ripken’s mark.

#4 Most Career Stolen Bases – Rickey Henderson: 1,406 Stolen Bases

Coming in at #4 is the career stolen base record held by the greatest of all time, Rickey Henderson, who stole 1,406 bases during his career that lasted a quarter of a century. Henderson’s career spanned 4 decades and he played at the time as Willie McCovey and Miguel Cabrera. During that time, of course, he was a base stealing machine, leading the league in steals 12 times and stealing at least 30 bases 22 times. He also stole at least 100 bases 3 separate times. These days, the stolen base has declined across the board and every year, there are several entire teams who fall short of 100 steals. For instance, the San Francisco Giants stole just 57 bases all year in 2023. There are a few legitimate base stealers still around like Ronald Acuna Jr. who nabbed 73 bases last year. But that was a career high by far, and a number far higher than the typical season stolen base leader, but even if he could repeat it, he’d have to do it for 17 more years to catch Rickey – an impossible feat given that players slow down with age. In 2022, the league leader, Jon Berti, had just 41 steals. To have a chance to catch Henderson, a player would have to be stealing close to 100 bases every year during their 20’s – something that just doesn’t happen anymore. The last player to steal 100 bases in a season was Vince Coleman in 1987. Rob Manfred can make the bases as big as he wants and limit pickoffs as much as he wants, but until teams start running more and allowing young fast players to steal whenever they want, Rickey Henderson’s record will remain untouchable.

#3 Most Career Wins – Cy Young: 511 Wins

Imagine a pitcher averaging 20 wins per season for 25 years. That is what a pitcher would have to do to just approach Cy Young’s record of 511 career wins. In the modern game, starting pitchers often don’t even make it through the 5 innings required to be considered for the win. Combined with 5 and sometimes 6-man rotations, pitch limits, innings limits, and a high frequency in injuries and Tommy John surgeries, there’s no way any pitcher will ever come close to 511 wins. The closest a pitcher has come in the modern era is Greg Maddux, who finished his career with 355 wins, a number no pitcher is likely to reach any time soon if ever. Even today’s elite starters who have had long and successful careers are nowhere close to Maddux much less Cy Young. The active leader, Zack Greinke, has 225 wins. Next is Max Scherzer with 214. Neither are even halfway to Cy Young.

#2 Most Career Shutouts: Walter Johnson: 110 Shutouts.

Up next is the insane 110 career shutout record by Walter Johnson. The sad fact is, pitchers rarely complete games anymore – but to break this record, a pitcher would not only have to complete more than 110 games, which is never going to happen, but not allow a single run during any of those outings. The fact that only one active pitcher even has double digit career shutouts tells you how unbreakable this record is. That pitcher – Clayton Kershaw – has 15 career shutouts. Even the great Justin Verlander only has 9. There are great arms like Robbie Ray, Logan Webb, Shohei Ohtani and Luis Severino, all with a single career shutout. It just doesn’t happen anymore and when it does, it’s a massive achievement. Last year, only two pitchers in all of baseball had more than a single shutout – Gerrit Cole and Framber Valdez. To catch Walter Johnson, a pitcher needs to throw 6 shutouts per season for 19 straight years. It’s simply never happening.

#1 Most Career Complete Games: Cy Young: 749 Complete Games

But at #1 is a record I can be confident in saying that no player will ever come close to in my lifetime or the lifetime of any one else alive today. The simple reason – as I already said, pitchers don’t complete games any more, at least not very often. In the early days of baseball, starting pitchers were expected to complete every game they started. That is far from the case today. But that’s not the only reason this record will never be touched. The other reason is the sheer number – 749 complete games, more complete games than today’s starters ever start at all. Even if Clayton Kershaw completed every game he ever started, he would still only have 422 complete games. Even some one with amazing longevity like Bartolo Colon wouldn’t have come close. If Colon completed every game he started throughout his 21-year career, he would have 552 complete games – still quite a bit short. In actuality, he had 38 and Kershaw has 25. In other words, this record is literally unbreakable. I have a better chance of catching Mr. Beast in YouTube subscribers than any MLB pitcher does of ever throwing 749 complete games. Even if the greatest pitcher to ever live with the greatest stamina ever seen came along, he would not be allowed to complete that many games in the modern analytical era. With 5 and 6 man rotations, I would say it’s unlikely any pitcher even starts 749 games again, much less completes that many.

And that does it for today’s video on my Top 15 unbreakable records; I hope you enjoyed it – let me know your thoughts down below. I know there are several other unbreakable records, but these are the main 15 career records that come to mind for me, but feel free to put more in that comments section. Hit the thumbs up button and subscribe button – and let’s see if we can catch Mr. Beast. You guys have a good one and we’ll talk to you later.