Baseball season is upon us! It’s a glorious time of the year, and hopes are high that our Minnesota Twins can accomplish even more than they did last year. Is it any wonder that the phrase “Hope springs eternal” applies so well in the springtime when baseball begins?
More than any other sport, fans of baseball can often tick off important numbers that represent records achieved by great players. The minutiae of baseball is part of what makes it so endearing. I’m not a big analytics guy, but all the numbers associated with every aspect of baseball just make some people geek out even more than me.
Records are important in baseball. Any time a record looks to be broken, it becomes a big deal. Just think back to the great home run race between Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa back in 1998. They both surpassed Roger Maris’ number of 61, and it was must-see TV every night. I can remember sitting in our living room with Michelle, eating ice cream, and watching McGuire’s 62nd home run land just over the fence in St. Louis.
That record was rebroken by Barry Bonds. Bonds then went on to move past Hank Aaron for the all-time home run record. Many people don’t count that, or McGuire’s or Sosa’s numbers, due to alleged steroid use. I’m among them. To me, Aaron is still the home run king.
Will his 755 home runs ever be beaten legitimately? I don’t think so. The closest active player is Giancarlo Stanton with 402. He will not play long enough to eclipse Aaron’s mark. There are more home runs than ever being hit these days, but whether you count Aaron or Bonds as the home run king, that should stay put for a long, long time.
What other baseball records are unlikely to be broken?
How about Cal Ripken, Jr.’s consecutive games streak? He played 2632 games in a row. That’s 16 ¼ seasons in a row without missing a game. Most players never even reach that number of seasons. And it’s rare to see anyone play all 162 in any given year. Players are given days off for rest, and they’re likely to get nicked up at some point and have the need to sit and recover. Cal, you might have the safest record of them all!
Cy Young, the man the pitching award is named after, has two records that will never even be approached. He won 511 games as a pitcher. I find it hard to imagine that anyone will even reach 300 wins again, which used to be the number by which to measure Hall of Fame worthiness. He also pitched 749 complete games. Yeah, that doesn’t happen much anymore. Last season, the Twins celebrated having a pitcher throw a complete game for the first time in more than a year. With specialized relief pitchers and pitch counts on starters, it seems safe to say that nobody will exceed Cy’s numbers.
Nolan Ryan had 5714 strikeouts in his career. He played in an era where pitchers threw a lot of pitches. In today’s era, even with reduced pitch counts, I would have loved to see him throw against these free-swinging players of modern times. The Twins set an all-time record for strikeouts as batters last year. Nolan would have feasted on the uppercut swings today. Alas, he would have been pulled in the 6th inning because he had thrown 100 pitches to get there. Knowing Nolan’s reputation, he may have punched a coach who came to get him out.
Ricky Henderson had 1406 career stolen bases. The biggest reason his record won’t be broken is that teams don’t steal as much anymore. Stolen bases were up last season since MLB enlarged the bases. That still won’t matter because Ricky would steal 100 bases in a season, a number that is unheard of today.
There’s one that has been in place for a while and could be broken if the stars align, but it still seems pretty safe. Joe DiMaggio got a hit in 56 straight games. That’s impressive. Pitchers are better than ever these days, and let’s be honest: A lot of hitting can be luck. With the shifts finally removed, though, maybe, just maybe a player might have a shot at this.
Orel Hersheiser’s consecutive innings pitched without giving up a run fits that bill too. Hersheiser went 59 straight scoreless innings. Again, a lot of luck goes into this, but it could happen.
I love baseball and love looking at numbers like this. I remember watching Cal break the record and Ricky stealing bases and Orel and Nolan pitching. I hope we have people who take a run at some records.
Even more, I hope the Twins take a run at the World Series this year! Go Twins!
Word of the Week: This week’s word is dexterous, which means skillful or also right-handed, as in, “The baseball player was quite dexterous and made the team as a shortstop in his first training camp.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!