Unbreakable MLB Records

Picture by Daniel Millhouse: Joe Torre has a 2,326 career wins as a manager which is still 1,405 short of Connie Mack

Baseball players are becoming more and more like fine-tuned machines every year compared to the legends that we think about years ago. When players like Babe Ruth played, it was possible for a player to be a star despite being out of shape and in Ruth's case, occasionally drunk during the game. Players used to report to Spring Training out of shape and use the preseason to get back into shape. Now, they are already in shape before Spring Training starts, resorting to personal trainers, home gyms, and even science to gain every edge physically.

Players of the past were burdened with having to find a job in the offseason to pay their personal bills. Today, a player can make enough in one season to be set for life. Not only can they rest from baseball during the offseason, they often develop personal training programs to improve themselves by the time they are required to report to their club for the new season.

Because of this singular focus, many records are falling that were once considered hard to break. This doesn't mean that they are all in danger of falling. On the contrary, some records will possibly be never broken because of the changes of the game. So here is a list of those records that are least in danger of being broken in Major League Baseball.

1. Career Wins (511 by Cy Young): With pitch counts, innings limits, and five/six man rotations today, this record appears to be the safest. Cy Young pitched between 1890-1911, surpassing 30 wins five times in a season and 20 wins 15 times. Only one played in baseball history has even topped 400 and he played over a hundred years ago as well (Walter Johnson). Greg Maddux (355 wins) and Roger Clemens (354) are the closest to reach 511, but still a whole career short. Big Bartolo Colon is the current active leader in the MLB with 218 wins and he is already 42 years old. If a pitcher played 20 seasons, he would have to average over 25 wins a season to approach Cy Young's unbreakable record. With pitching limits in today's game, many starters only average a little more than 25 starts in a season.

2, Career Batting Average (.366 by Ty Cobb): Ty Cobb might be known as one of the meanest players to ever play, but he was also one of the hardest to get out. While players today have been able to reach .366 in a single season, no player has come close to putting up numbers near that high for a career. Tony Gwynn was the closest in the last 50 years, hitting .338 for his career, but that ranks him 18th on the all-time list. Currently Miguel Cabrera has the highest career average with a .321 average in 13 seasons of play. Cabrera will make it to the Hall of Fame when he retires, but he will not come close to Ty Cobb as he is currently 47th all-time.

3, Career Stolen Bases (1,406 by Rickey Henderson): This record was set recently when Henderson retired in 2003. So why is this one unbreakable? Baseball has changed. Rickey was a rare bread of player, consistently able to hit 100 stolen bases in a season and playing for 25 seasons, Henderson is one of the last workhorses of his like. Several players since he began his career have shown they have Henderson-like abilities, but none had the durability, nor are they able to even attempt 100 stolen bases in a season anymore because it has been deemed too risky for a team to possibly take an out if the player is unsuccessful. Vince Coleman, Carl Crawford, and currently Billy Hamilton all had/have the 100 plus potential in them, but durability and ability has been their problems. Coleman couldn't put up hitting stats to warrant playing a long career. Crawford eventually succumbed to injuries. Hamilton, only in his second year and heralded for his speed, can't get on base and once he does, has trouble getting a good jump. Currently Ichiro is the active leader, but he has 498 stolen bases at the age of 41.

4. Strikeouts in a Season (383 by Nolan Ryan): For a pitcher today to get to 383 in a season, they would have to average 12 strikeouts a game with 32 starts in a single season. Randy Johnson got the closest in the last twenty-five years 372 in 2001, but he was considered a freak like Ryan. Only one player currently active has even hit 300 in a season (301 by Clayton Kershaw in 2015), but that is still 82 strikeouts too short. Kershaw is more likely to break the all-time mark of 5,714, also by Nolan Ryan, but that is still a long shot. Kershaw currently has 1,746 strikeouts and is 27. At his current pace, if he plays 23 seasons and doesn't drop his strikeouts average per season, he could be a threat to Ryan's record by the time he turns 43 years old.

5. Wins in a Career by a Manager (3,731 by Connie Mack): Connie Mack managed for 53 seasons, starting in 1894 and finally retiring in 1950. If a manager today manages for 25 seasons, he would have to average 150 wins a season to break Mack's record. If they managed 35 seasons, they would have average 107 wins a season. The closest current manager is Bruce Bochy with 1,702 wins in 21 seasons, followed by Mike Scioscia with 1,416 in 16 seasons. Bochy would have to manage for 46 seasons at his current average to break Mack's record, which would make Bochy 86 years old at the time the record would be broken. The closest in recent years was Tony La Russa in his 33 seasons with 2,728 wins. If he started managing again and was able to continue his pace, he would have to manage 13 more seasons.