When it comes to all-time records in baseball, some were set in a different era and will never be equaled, like the 59 wins compiled by Old Hoss Radbourn in 1884. The Colorado Rockies won just 43 games last summer. Ouch.
Cy Young’s 511 career wins and 749 complete games also fall into that untouchable category.
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As for complete games, there have only been 29 in all of Major League Baseball during the 2025 season. At that rate, it would take another 26 seasons just to all baseball teams combined to reach 749, so that this record will never be broken. The game has changed. Even before the game changed, both of these numbers were unattainable.
I would like to propose that baseball breaks the record books in the pre- and post-integration periods. Radbourn’s 59 victories would remain the pre-integration record. The post-integration record (1947 to present) would belong to Denny McLain and his remarkable 31 wins in 1968. Maybe you don’t like the idea of two separate record books, but remember: Major League Baseball once put a footnote next to Roger Maris’s single-season home run record and kept it for almost thirty years.
I think it makes sense to have two record books. Pre-integration gamers never had to compete with black, Asian, or Latino players, much less play late-night games or endure the travel demands that modern gamers face. Things used to be different, and that’s good, but you’d have a hard time convincing me that Old Hoss Radbourn was a better pitcher than Satchel Paige, Bob Gibson, Steve Carlton, Greg Maddux or even a modern slinger like Clayton Kershaw. Baseball fans know of Radbourn’s 59 victories. Reddit fans know him as one of the first to give the bird to a photographer.
Nolan Ryan is the career strikeout leader with an incredible 5,715 strikeouts. The Big Unit is in second place with 4,875. Think about that for a moment. As great as Randy Johnson was, he still finished 840 strikeouts behind the Ryan Express. The current active leader is Justin Verlander with 3,553 members, and his career is winding down. This disk is safe for our life.
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I doubt we’ll ever see anyone break Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak. Defenses and scouting are too sophisticated today, not to mention hitters have to deal with a parade of flamethrower weapons. By modern standards, a 25 or 30 game hitting streak is remarkable. DiMaggio’s 56-game streak occurred in 1941, making it the pre-integration record. The post-integration mark belongs to Pete Rose and his phenomenal 44 games in 1978.
Some other records surprised me. Take Sam Crawford’s record of 309 career triples. Seems reasonable, right? Ty Cobb is in second place with 295. Former Royals greats Willie Wilson (#56, 147) and George Brett (#70, 137) are listed. Who is the active player with the most career triples? That would be Starling Marte with 55. Bobby Witt Jr. will eventually appear on this list – he already has 34. The post-integration record holder for career triples is Roberto Clemente with 166. Seeing Roberto’s name in the record books warms my heart. He was a phenomenal player.
Earl Webb holds the single-season doubles record with 67, set in 1931. It’s a record that could be broken. The modern record holders are Freddie Freeman and Todd Helton, who both hit 59 doubles: Freeman in 2023 and Helton in 2000. More on Freeman as the story unfolds.
And career doubles? That record belongs to Tris Speaker with 792. Pete Rose is second with 746. George Brett sits in an impressive 7th place with 665. The current active leader, at 34th, is Freddie Freeman with 547. With a few decent seasons, he should comfortably move into the top 20 all time.
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Speaking of Freeman, he’s also the current leader in active hits with 2,431. Pete Rose, of course, holds the top spot with 4,256.
Freeman’s name continues to appear on other lists as well.
Total bases? Hammerin’ Henry Aaron might have an unbreakable all-time record with 6,856. Albert Pujols is second with 6,211. George Brett is 21st with 5,044, while our newest Hall of Famer Carlos Beltrán ranks 34th with 4,751. Freeman is the active leader with 4,145.
Hack Wilson holds the all-time single-season RBI record with 191, set in 1930. The modern record belongs to Manny Ramírez, who drove in 165 runs in 1999.
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Career RBIs follow a similar pattern. Hank Aaron is No. 1 with 2,297, followed by Pujols with 2,218. George Brett is 38th with 1,596, while Beltrán is 41st with 1,587. The active leader, once again, is Freeman with 1,322.
What about extra base hits? The Hammer is number 1 with 1,477, while Barry Bonds ranks second with 1,440. George Brett ranks 19th with 1,119, and Beltrán ranks 25th with 1,078. Freeman is again the active leader with 947.
Two more, then I’ll stop.
Points scored: Rickey Henderson leads all-time with 2,295. Ty Cobb is second with 2,245. To everyone’s surprise, former Royal Johnny Damon ranks 32nd with 1,668, while George Brett (No. 51, 1,583) and Beltrán (No. 53, 1,582) occupy the same district. Freeman is the active leader at 102nd with 1,379.
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My point in all of this is that Freddie Freeman had one hell of a career. If you had any doubt about his Hall of Fame credentials, this should put an end to it. He’s going to Cooperstown without a doubt. And looking back and seeing George Brett’s name on so many of these lists brings back great memories of what a tremendous hitter he was.
Another Rickey Henderson record that seems safe for a long, long time is his stolen base mark of 1,406. Lou Brock, one of the nicest baseball players I’ve ever met, is in second place with 938. Several former Royals dot the list. Willie Wilson ranks 12th with 668, so his club record looks safe for a long time. Damon appears again at 68th with 408. He also had a hell of a career – too bad the Royals couldn’t keep him in Kansas City longer. The somewhat overlooked Freddie Patek ranks 83rd with 385 steals. The active career leader, at 102nd, is Starling Marte with 361.
What is all this for? I’m not entirely sure, other than my fascination with numbers. Despite the game featuring several all-time greats (Mike Trout, anyone?), these career records show just how amazing some of the past careers truly were. The more I played with the idea of pre- and post-integration registers, the more I liked it. It would give fans something new to get excited about. Could anyone break the modern RBI or doubles record? Absolutely. And right now, baseball needs all the excitement it can get.
Plus, as Freeman turns 36 later this fall, take the opportunity to watch him while you can. It might be a long time before we see another one like him.
