Over the years, I've heard a lot of talk about baseball's most unbreakable records. Off the top of my head, I'd say Fernando Tatis's record of hitting 2 grand slams in the same inning is a good candidate, since he's the only one ever to do this, and I certainly can't fathom anyone hitting 3 in one inning! But, I don't want to discuss single game records here--they're too flukey, too often some mediocre, or worse player's one moment in the sun. So today I'll cover single season records, since that's enough time to indicate real talent, and not some coincidence. There is one big caveat, though--most of these records will be two holders, one for pre-1900 action, and one for after. Baseball before 1900 was much different--different ball, different distance between the bases, different rules, on and on. I personally regard the post 1900 records at the "real" ones, but I'll include the pre-1900s ones just for completion purposes, and to show just how different the game was. Finally, there's the matter of different leagues. Some of these holders played in other pro leagues, such as the American Association, or the Negro Leagues. Some fans don't count games unless they were American League or National League contests. But I'll include all of them, and you can judge for yourself. Anyway, let's get to it.
1) Most triples hit in a season: 36, by John Owen "Chief Wilson, of the 1912 Pittsburgh Pirates. This is arguably the hardest batting record to break. The next closest were Dave Orr of the 1886 New York Metropolitans (American Association), and Henry Reitz of the 1894 Baltimore Orioles (National League), who both had 31. For comparison, the most in the 2000s was 23, hit by Curtis Granderson in 2007, with the Detroit Tigers.
2) Most hit by pitch in a season: (Pre-1900) 51, by Hughie Jennings, of the 1896 Baltimore Orioles (National League). Jennings is also the lifetime leader in this category, with 287. (Post-1900) 50, by Ron Hunt of the Montreal Expos in 1971. Hunt also excelled in this "talent," as he finished with 243, or 6th all time. Of recent leaders in this category, Ty France of the Seattle Mariners was hit 34 times in 2023.
3) Most rbi in a season: 191, by Hack Wilson, in 1930 with the Chicago Cubs, in 155 games. Next highest is 185, by Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees in 1931. The more modern leader was the 165 total accumulated by Manny Ramirez for the 1999 Boston Red Sox.
4) Most stolen bases in a season: (Pre-1900) 138, by Hugh Nicol, for the 1887 Cincinnati Reds of the American Association. (Post 1900) 130, by Rickey Henderson of the 1982 Oakland Athletics. The next highest total was the 118 stolen by Lou Brock in 1974. There hasn't been another player to steal 100 or more since 1987, when St. Louis Cardinal Vince Coleman got 109. I think this record is particularly safe since modern teams, with the use of advanced sabremetrics, realize that it's unwise to attempt steals if you can't be successful at least 75-80% of the time. Meaning modern teams don't try to steal nearly as much.
5) Most runs scored in a season: (Pre-1900) 198, by Philadelphia Phillie Billy Hamilton in 1894. (Post-1900), 177 by Babe Ruth of the New York Yankees in 1921. (Another pre-1900 player, Tom Brown, also scored 177, with the 1891 Boston Reds of the American Association.) The highest amount in more recent times is the 152 scored by Jeff Bagwell for the Houston Astros in 2000.
6) Highest batting average in a season: (Negro Leagues) .4711 by Tetelo Vargas for the 1943 New York Cubans, with 136 plate appearances. .4659 by Josh Gibson, of the Homestead Grays in 1943, with 302 plate appearances. (Pre-1900) .4397, by Hugh Duffy of the Boston (no team name) team in the American League in 1894. (Post-1900) .4265 by Nap LaJoie of the Philadelphia Athletics in 1901. No one has hit even .400 since Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox in 1941. The highest more recent leader was the .394 hit by Tony Gwynn of the San Diego Padres in the labor-shortened 1994 season.
7) Highest WAR in a season: (Pre-1900) 20.2, by pitcher Tim Keefe for the New York Metropolitans (American Association) in 1883. (Post-1900) 16.6, by pitcher Walter Johnson, of the Washington Senators in 1913. The highest WAR for a position player is the 14.1 attained by New York Yankee Babe Ruth in 1923. The highest more recent total is the 13.3 accumulated by New York Met pitcher Dwight Gooden in 1985.
8) Most wins by a pitcher in a season: (Pre-1900) 60, by Old Hoss Radbourn for the Providence Grays (National League) in 1884. (Post-1900) 41, by Jack Chesbro of the New York Yankees in 1904. For comparison, the last guy to win even 30 was Denny McLain in 1968, as he won 31 with the Detroit Tigers.
9) Most losses by a pitcher in a season: (Pre-1900) 48, by John Coleman for the 1883 Philadelphia squad (National League). (Post-1900) 29, by Vic Willis of the 1905 Boston Nationals of the National League. More recently, the last pitcher to lose 20 games was Mike Maroth of the Detroit Tigers in 2003, as he lost 21.
10) Most innings pitched in a season: (Pre-1900) 680, by Will White of the Cincinnati Reds (National League) in 1879. (Post-1900) 464, by Ed Walsh of the Chicago White Sox (American League) in 1908. For comparison, the last pitcher to throw even 300 innings was Steve Carlton for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1980, with 304. The leader in the 2000s was Randy Johnson, with 260.
11) Most complete games by a pitcher in a season: (Pre-1900) 75, by Will White again, of the Cincinnati Reds in 1879. (Post-1900) 48, by Jack Chesbro, in his sterling 1904 season with the New York Yankees. The leader for the 2000s was James Shields, with 11 for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2011. The last guy to have 20 complete games was Fernando Valenzuela in 1986, with the Los Angeles Dodgers. And the leaders in 2024 had a grand total of 2!
12) Most shutouts by a pitcher in a season: 16, by two pitchers. George Bradley had 16 for the St. Louis Brown Stockings (National League) in 1876. Grover Cleveland Alexander had 16 with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1916. Otherwise, the highs were 13, for Jack Coombs of the Philadelphia A's in 1910, and for Bob Gibson of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1968. The leader in the 2000s was 6, for Cliff Lee of the Philadelphia Phillies in 2011. The last guy with 10 was John Tudor of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1985.
13) Most fielding errors in a season: (Pre-1900), 122(!) by two players. Herman Long of the Kansas City Cowboys (American Association) in 1889, and by Billy Shindle of the 1890 Philadelphia Athletics (Players League). (Post-1900) 98, by John Gochnaur for the 1903 Cleveland Naps (American League). More recently, the 2000s leader was Jose Valentin, with 36 errors for the Chicago White Sox in 2000. The last player with 40 or more was Jose Offerman, with 42 for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1992.
So there you have it. Forget DiMaggio's consecutive games hitting streak, I think these records are almost impossible to break. Especially the pitching ones--with the way pitchers are used today, surely no one will ever pitch as many innings, complete games, shutouts, etc., as the pitchers in the "Dead Ball" error of 1900-1920, and never as many as guys in the 1800s. As I hope I demonstrated with the more recent leaders in each category, it's almost silly to even consider it. But, as usual, I would welcome dissenting opinions from readers. I doubt you'll convince me, but you can give it a try.
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