So, today is Induction Sunday. For fans of baseball, you all know what that means. It is the day that the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum will bring two more greats into the Hall of Fame. This year Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken, Jr., will attain legendary status.
Gwynn, "Mr. Padre," who spent his entire career with the San Diego Padres, enters the hall on his first year of eligibility, named on 97.6% of the ballots, the first player to join the hall wearing the interlocking SD on the cap. (Players elected to the hall may choose what cap to wear, if they have played for more than one team.) Gwynn amassed 3,141 hits over his 20-year career. He was named to 15 All-Star teams, won eight batting titles, and boasts a .338 lifetime batting average. In the strike-shortened 1984 season, Gwynn average was .394 and may believe he may have broken Ted William's record had the season been complete.
The Baltimore Orioles "Iron Man," Cal Ripken received 537 votes of the 545 ballots (98.5%). He is most know for "The Streak." Ripken broke the record of most consecutive games held by Lou Gehrig (2130) playing in 2632 games for the Baltimore Orioles. The Streak took sixteen years, from his first game on May 30, 1982 until his finally said stop on September 20, 1998. Ripken is also a 19-time All-Star and holds a lifetime average of .276 and 431 career home runs.
Another Oriole was the only one closest to taking a shot at the Streak. Miguel Tejada, until he was injured earlier this season, had played in 1152 consecutive games. He would have had to play every single game for the next nine years to catch Ripken. The next closest now is Juan Pierre of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who better pace himself - he would need fourteen more seasons to surpass Ripken.
There are other records in baseball that will likely never be broken, but Ripken's tops the list. Here are two others that I think (and others agree) will likely be untouched for years to come. I am leaving off a few to get your brain juices flowing to see if you have other thoughts.
- Cy Young's 511 wins (not in this day and age - pitchers are now considered "too delicate" to last that long)
- Joe DiMaggio's 56 game consecutive hit streak (you hear about players coming close, and this would be the one that might fall)
3 comments:
Speculation has it that this may also be the last time 2 players who have spent their entire careers with only 1 team each will be inducted together.
As a lifelong Marylander, Cal was certainly part of the fabric of Baltimore. I remember purchasing score sheets at the old Memorial Stadium where his name was alredy pre-printed in the number three spot in the Orioles lineup.
Anyway, here are some other records that I think are probably safe:
1)Cy Young's career mark of 749 complete games.
2)Walter Johnson's career mark of 110 shutouts.
3)Ty Cobb's lifetime .367 batting average.
4)Sam Crawford's 309 career triples.
and, let's end the list with one I had to look up
5) Barry "Steroid" Bonds and his current 2531 walks.
Gotta agree with adr on #2. Looking at the active leaderboard here, will anyone reach 50 shutouts ever again?
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