List of Major League Baseball consecutive games played leaders

Listed below are the 15 longest consecutive games played streaks in Major League Baseball history. To compile such a streak, a player must appear in every game played by his team. The streak is broken if the team completes a game in which the player neither takes a turn at bat nor plays a half-inning in the field.

The record of playing in 2,632 consecutive games over more than 16 years is held by Cal Ripken, Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles. Ripken surpassed Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees, whose legendary record of 2,130 consecutive games had stood for 56 years. Before Gehrig, the record was held by Everett Scott, a shortstop with the Red Sox and Yankees whose streak ended in 1925, less than a month before Gehrig's began.

The record for a National League player is held by Steve Garvey of the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres (1975–1983), though Garvey's 1,207-game streak is less than half the length of Ripken's. Previous holders of the National League record include Billy Williams of the Chicago Cubs (1963–1970), Stan Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals (1952–1957), and Gus Suhr of the Pittsburgh Pirates (1931–1937).

A notable recent streak was compiled by Miguel Tejada of the Oakland A's and Baltimore Orioles, who played in 1,152 consecutive games from 2000 to 2007. As of August 1, 2012, the current player with the longest active Major League consecutive games streaks is Prince Fielder of the Detroit Tigers with 285, taking the record after Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers was placed on the disabled list, ending his streak at 399 games.

Of the 15 people on this list, eight (Ripken, Gehrig, Williams, Sewell, Musial, Fox, Ashburn, and Banks) are members of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

List

Rank	Name	Streak	First game	Last game
1	Cal Ripken, Jr.	2,632	May 30, 1982	September 19, 1998
2	Lou Gehrig	2,130	June 1, 1925	April 30, 1939
3	Everett Scott	1,307	June 20, 1916	May 5, 1925
4	Steve Garvey	1,207	September 3, 1975	July 29, 1983
5	Miguel Tejada	1,152	June 2, 2000	June 21, 2007
6	Billy Williams	1,117	September 22, 1963	September 2, 1970
7	Joe Sewell	1,103	September 13, 1922	April 30, 1930
8	Stan Musial	895	April 15, 1952	August 22, 1957
9	Eddie Yost	829	August 30, 1949	May 11, 1955
10	Gus Suhr	822	September 11, 1931	June 4, 1937
11	Juan Pierre	800
12	Nellie Fox	798	August 7, 1955	September 3, 1960
13	Pete Rose	745	September 1, 1978	August 23, 1983
14	Dale Murphy	740	September 26, 1981	July 8, 1986
15	Richie Ashburn	730	June 7, 1950	September 26, 1954
16	Ernie Banks	717	August 26, 1956	June 22, 1961

Official definition

MLB's rule 10.23(c), defining consecutive game streaks, is as follows: "A consecutive game playing streak shall be extended if the player plays one half inning on defense, or if he completes a time at bat by reaching base or being put out. A pinch running appearance only shall not extend the streak. If a player is ejected from a game by an umpire before he can comply with the requirements of this rule, his streak shall continue."

Thus it is possible for a pinch-runner enter a game and record a statistic—steal a base, be caught stealing, or score a run—without being credited with a (consecutive) game played. Similarly, a fielder can field a ball in play, make a putout or an assist, and even commit an error, without being credited with a (consecutive) game played. For example, Hideki Matsui's consecutive games streak was ended when he broke his wrist diving for a ball with two outs in the first inning of the Yankee game of May 11, 2006. That game would have been #519 in his MLB streak and #1,769 in his MLB/Japan game streak (see below), but since Matsui did not play a full half inning on defense, that game is not counted in his streak. MLB and the Society for American Baseball Research both credit Matsui with having played 518 consecutive MLB games.

Streak starts, continuations, and ends

Lou Gehrig's streak started as a pinch-hitter. The next day he started at first base in place of slumping Wally Pipp (contrary to legend, Pipp did not have a headache), and stayed there for fourteen years. On July 14, 1934, Gehrig, suffering from an attack of lumbago, was listed in the Yankee lineup at shortstop. He batted in the top of the first inning to preserve the streak, singled, and was promptly removed from the game. Gehrig's streak was ended by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the disease that would take his life. His physical abilities rapidly declining, Gehrig told manager Joe McCarthy to take him out of the lineup on May 2, 1939. He never played again, dying in 1941.

Garvey's streak was ended when he dislocated his thumb in a home plate collision against the Atlanta Braves.

Ripken says that the closest he ever came to not playing during his streak was the day after he twisted his knee during a bench-clearing brawl against the Seattle Mariners in June 1993. When the 1994-95 baseball player's strike threatened to destroy Ripken's streak as baseball owners planned to use replacement players, Baltimore owner Peter Angelos announced that the Orioles would rather not field a team than see Ripken's streak snapped. The replacement player scenario never came to pass, as the remainder of the 1994 season- including the World Series- was cancelled due to the strike. Ripken broke Gehrig's record on September 6, 1995. Ripken himself made the decision not to play on September 20, 1998, the Orioles' last home game of the season. Rookie Ryan Minor played third base for Ripken in a 5-4 loss to the Yankees.

Miguel Tejada's streak ended after Doug Brocail hit Tejada on the wrist with a pitch on June 20, 2007. During the game on June 21, Tejada took an at-bat in the top half of the first inning, bunting into a fielder's choice. He was removed from the game for a pinch runner, officially keeping the streak alive. But Tejada was then diagnosed with a broken wrist and went to the disabled list, ending his streak at 1,152 games.

Consecutive innings

From June 5, 1982 to September 14, 1987, Ripken played 8,243 consecutive innings, which is believed to be a record, although not one that is officially kept by MLB.

Combined Japanese/U.S. streak

Hideki Matsui assembled a consecutive games streak of 1,768 games combined between the Japanese league Yomiuri Giants and the Major league New York Yankees, placing him behind only Ripken and Gehrig for streaks in top-flight professional baseball. The MLB portion of Matsui's streak extended for 518 games and represent a record for consecutive games to start a player's big-league career. The entire combined streak stretched from August 22, 1993 to May 10, 2006 and was ended by a wrist injury in what would have been his 519th consecutive game (see above). The major league portion of the streak extended from March 31, 2003 (opening day) until May 10, 2006.

External links

• CNNSI article on the end of Ripken's streak, including a picture of the lineup card