Major League Baseball

The five most unbreakable records in MLB history

Updated Sep. 20, 2022 9:55 p.m. ET

Ben Verlander

FOX Sports MLB Analyst

Alex Curry

Reporter

A pair of St. Louis Cardinals teammates made MLB history together last week.

Yadier Molina was behind the plate for an Adam Wainwright start for the 325th time, setting the record for most starts by a pitcher-catcher duo in MLB history. They broke the record for most battery starts, which was previously held by Mickey Lolich and Bill Freehan, who played together on the Detroit Tigers from 1963-75.

With Wainwright and Molina setting this new mark, FOX Sports' Ben Verlander and Alex Curry ranked their top-five most unbreakable MLB records, which included the recent mark set by the Cardinals duo.

Ben Verlander's five unbreakable MLB records

5. Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright: Most starts as a battery (325)

Ben's thoughts: "The next closest active duo is over 200 away from that. Unbelievable. Kyle Hendricks and Willson Contreras are the next closest, and they're nowhere close. I don't think we ever see this one again."

4. Rickey Henderson: Most career steals (1,406)

Ben's thoughts: "Will we ever see this again? No, for a couple of reasons. One, the stolen base isn't as big of a factor in Major League Baseball anymore. It might be in the future because the bases will be slightly bigger, so they'll be closer, and maybe we'll see more stolen base attempts. But two, nobody's going to do it like Rickey Henderson did ... That record feels unbreakable to me."

3. Nolan Ryan: Most career strikeouts (5,714)

Ben's thoughts: "Truly remarkable. One, he's known for being a strikeout guy. Obviously, he's got the most strikeouts of all time. He pitched for so long. He had so many strikeouts in so many years well into his 40s. So, the longevity mixed in with his talent to strike out anybody on any given night, you won't see either ever again. The combination of both is what got him 5,714 strikeouts."

2. Cal Ripken Jr.: Most consecutive games played (2,632)

Ben's thoughts: "There are 162 games played in a year. So, do that quick math … it's going to take you precisely 15 years and three weeks to get this done. OK, I don't know for certain, but Whit Merrifield had the active record going and he was something like 10 years away from breaking the record."

1. Cy Young: Most career wins (511)

Ben's thoughts: "You could do a whole list of Cy Young things: wins, losses, complete games, whatever you want to do. I went with wins because it's positive and being a BPG — big positive guy — I'm all positive here. They should name an award after him."

The five most unbreakable MLB records

Ben Verlander and Alex Curry give us their top five unbreakable records in MLB history on "Flippin' Bats."

Alex Curry's five unbreakable MLB records

5. Cy Young: Most career complete games (749)

Alex's thoughts: "I don't see [anyone] matching that record anytime soon. The whole pitching structure has changed. You have so many relief pitchers. You have closers [pitching more]. Everything changed in that sense. Plus, you would have to average 30 complete games over 25 seasons. Just a little bit difficult right there."

4. Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright: Most starts as a battery (325)

Alex's thoughts: "It's so rare to have one player in one organization for that long, let alone a teammate and a battery mate be in the organization for that long. Also, for either one of them to not have a big injury. This is impressive. I don't see it happening again for a very long time."

3. Joe DiMaggio: Longest hitting streak (56 games)

Alex's thoughts: "The last time there was a 45-game hitting streak was in 1996-97. Injuries, pitchers choosing to walk you, there are so many things that can happen."

2. Shohei Ohtani: 10-plus wins and 30-plus home runs in a season

Alex's thoughts: "I don't even see that record happening unless he's maybe inspiring that next generation of kids that believe they can be the next Shohei Ohtani and do both [pitching and hitting] and get to where he's going. Right now, he is the record book, and he keeps creating his own records."

1. Barry Bonds: Most home runs in MLB history (756)

Alex's thoughts: "This one might be a bit controversial. We know what was going on during that time. Sometimes we don't talk about it. Sometimes we do talk about it. We're seeing greatness right now. Albert Pujols, one of the greatest hitters of our generation, is just chasing 700 at the end of his career."