27 MLB records that will never be broken
Because he played early in the 20th Century around the same time as legends like Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, Hall of Fame outfielder Tris Speaker is often overlooked when discussing the greatest players in history.
A longtime member of the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians, Speaker hit .345/.428/.500 across 22 Major League seasons. He collected 3,514 hits, 117 home runs and stole 436 bases, which made him one of the best all-around ballplayers. Speaker was the MVP of the American League in 1912, and led the Red Sox to a World Championship that season. He won it all again with Boston in 1915 and with Cleveland in 1920.
Speaker also collected more doubles than anyone in Major League history – 792 – a record that has stood since he retired in 1928, and one that is likely to stand forever.
Pete Rose finished his career with 746 doubles, which ranks second all-time. Stan Musial and Ty Cobb are the only other players to surpass the 700 mark and Craig Biggio, who collected 668 two-base hits in his career, was Speaker’s biggest challenger in the last quarter century.
With Albert Pujols leading active players with 566, the record appears to be safe for many years to come. Miguel Cabrera – who has averaged 41 doubles every 162 games – is one name to watch. However, Cabrera needs 321 more doubles to tie Speaker. That means he would need to continue his pace for another eight seasons (until the age of 40). As great as Cabrera is, that’s a very tall task.
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