5 MLB records that will never be broken

Nolan Ryan was one of a kind on the mound with his 5,714 career strikeouts

The other all-time pitching record that continues to blow my mind is Nolan Ryan‘s 5,714 career strikeouts. As with Young’s career wins record and Rose’s career hit record, this is all about longevity. However, one could argue the game is leaning into Ryan’s record more than the others. Nobody may approach 5,000 career punch outs, but many guys will join the 3,000 strikeout club.

Batters strike out more than they ever do with more and more pitchers bringing 95-miles-per-hour gas like Ryan did in his terrific career. However, velocity has come at the expense of pitching deep into games. Ryan never seemed to have arm troubles in his 27-year big-league career with four different franchises. He was effectively wild too with his all-time walks record of 2,795.

What continues to baffle me about Ryan’s career strikeouts record is how much leniency his managers gave him to amass this many punch outs. If a guy walks a ton of batters or keeps hitting them, he is going to get pulled in today’s game. Should he be too wild to rein it in, he may have to take the occasional trip to Triple-A. Then again, if nobody can hit you, you will have a place in MLB.

The closest approximation to Ryan was Randy Johnson, and even he came well short of the record.