I have always been enamored with the history of sports, so I thought I would do a top five unbreakable records in Major League baseball. I cut it off at since 1930, so I have not included the Cy Young’s 511 wins, Charles Radbourn’s 59 wins in a season in 1884 or Will White’s 75 complete games in 1879 since those records are impossible to break. There are many records that most likely won’t ever be broken, but I narrowed it down to just five and here they are:

5. Nolan Ryan’s 2,795 walks

This is a longevity record as much as anything. Ryan also holds the records for most strikeouts and no-hitters. It is like Brett Favre’s interception record in football. If you play long enough to be able to shatter a dubious record, you have to be a great player. Ryan played a major league record 27 years and had an incredible 2,795 walks. Nobody else even has 2,000 career walks. In fact, he nearly has 1,000 more walks than anyone else in MLB history. The next closest is Steve Carlton with 1,833 walks. Now that A.J. Burnett is not playing any more, there are now no active players even in the top 100 all-time in that category. To break this record, someone would have to have an incredibly long career and be great throughout his career, and I doubt anyone will even come close to touching this record.

4. Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak (1941)

It was extremely hard to order these since this is one of those that will never be touched as well. The only recent player to even come close is Pete Rose in 1978, who had a 44-game hitting streak. Willie Keeler had a 45-game spanning two seasons in the late 1800s. One thing I think is interesting about his hitting streak is that the day after his hitting streak was broken, the Yankee Clipper started a hitting streak of 16 games. In 73 games, DiMaggio had a hit in 72 of them. Think about that. There have been only six 40+ game hitting streaks. Current Chicago White Sox manager Robin Ventura said it best when he said “With pitching the way it is—specialty guys, closer and setup guys—you’re not going to have a chance to get four at-bats against one guy. On one night, you might face four different guys. I'm still amazed DiMaggio got to 56. I’m amazed now when somebody gets to 30.”

3. Hack Wilson’s 191 RBI in a season (1930)

Having more than an RBI a game is really impressive. Of the 21 players who have had 160 RBI in a season, only two have come since 1939, 165 by Cleveland’s Manny Ramirez in 1999 and 160 by Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs in 2001. Only Lou Gehrig’s 184 RBI in 1931 and Hank Greenberg’s 183 in 1937 were the only ones that even drove in 180 runs. Considering all the great players the past 75 years and no one has threatened Wilson’s record, I really do not see this record even threatened, much less broken in the future.

2. Nolan Ryan’s 5,714 strikeouts

The walk record probably is the least likely, if you will, of the many Ryan records, but since that record is more dubious than this one, this lands at No. 2. Of course longevity is a major reason this record is so out of reach, but he still had more than 300 strikeouts six times and had at least 200 strikeouts a remarkable 15 times. Second on this list is Randy Johnson, and ‘The Big Unit’ is still 839 behind Ryan. Johnson is the only one within 1,000 strikeouts of Nolan and I don’t see this record being challenged ever again.

1. Cal Ripken Jr.’s 2,632 consecutive games

When Ripken passed Gehrig in consecutive games, there was no way anyone would surpass either one of them again. To get close, a player would have to play all 162 games for 16 consecutive years. Luck has as much to do with this streak as anything. One minor injury or one day feeling sick and the streak is over. That is what makes this streak that much more incredible. Gehrig, who used to have the record, played in 2,130 consecutive games. After that, the next closest player is Everett Scott, who had a streak of 1,307, which is not even half of Ripken’s streak. Only seven players have even had a streak of 1,000 consecutive games. Not many players even play 162 games in a given year, so I find it impossible to see a player play every single game for more than 16 consecutive seasons.

As always, I always welcome feedback. I know I had to leave off some unbreakable records, so I would like to hear your opinion. What are some of your favorite unbreakable records?