With Alexander Ovechkin surpassing Wayne Gretzky’s goals record, it gives us a chance to consider some of the most hallowed records in sports history. Cal Ripken’s consecutive games streak, Tom Brady’s career yardage streak, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s career scoring record — sorry, that’s LeBron James’ scoring record now. See? Nothing lasts forever.
Well, almost nothing. Certain records are untouchable, thanks to the way sports have shifted in the decades — or century — since they were set. Others are potentially breakable in this era for the same reason — the way that athletes, and strategy, have improved over the decades. So we’ve divided these records into three categories: Absolutely unbreakable, probably unbreakable, and definitely breakable. So which of sports’ most hallowed records will one day fall, and which will stand long after everyone now playing has retired?
Absolutely Unbreakable
These are the records that will stand the test of time thanks to the talents of those who set them, combined with the changing eras of sports. (Note: We’ve left out certain records here that are obviously out of reach — think Cy Young’s 511 wins, or John Wooden’s 10 championships in 12 years, or Richard Petty’s 200 NASCAR Cup Series victories — simply because the level of competition is so much greater.) The greatest obstacle to record-breakers isn’t talent, it’s longevity — the incentives, for both athletes and teams, to craft multiple-decade-long careers are diminishing.
Baseball: Pete Rose’s 4,256 career hits
Freddie Freeman is the active leader in hits, with 2,270 as of April 3. Freeman averages 181 hits a year, meaning he’ll need to play at that level until his late 40s to catch Rose, who had 172 hits in his Age 41 season and played until he was 45. Not only do you have to hit, but you have to hit for a long time. Based on longevity alone, Rose is untouchable as no active player is within even 1,000 of the number of games he played.
Baseball: Cal Ripken’s 2,632 consecutive games played
If Matt Olson, baseball’s current active consecutive-games-played leader, played every single game from now through the 2036 season, he still wouldn’t ...
