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List of Major League Baseball consecutive games played leaders

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Listed below are the longest consecutive games played 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 record of 2,130 consecutive games had stood for 56 years. Before Gehrig, the record was held by Everett Scott (1,307 consecutive games), a shortstop with the Red Sox and Yankees whose streak ended in 1925, less than a month before Gehrig's began. Scott broke the previous record which was established by George Pinkney (577 consecutive games) from 1885–1890.

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).

Of the top 17 streaks on this list, 9 were compiled by members of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Two others are separate streaks compiled by Pete Rose, who was named one of the top 30 players of the 20th century but is banned from the Hall of Fame.

Key

Player Name of the player
Streak Number of consecutive games
Start Date of the game which began the streak
End Date of the final game of the streak
† Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame
‡ Streak is active

List

Minimum 500 consecutive games played[1][2]

Rank Player Streak Start End
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 Nellie Fox† 798 August 7, 1955 September 3, 1960
12 Pete Rose 745 September 1, 1978 August 23, 1983
13 Dale Murphy 740 September 26, 1981 July 8, 1986
14 Richie Ashburn† 730 June 7, 1950 September 26, 1954
15 Ernie Banks† 717 August 26, 1956 June 22, 1961
16 Pete Rose 678 September 28, 1973 May 7, 1978
17 Earl Averill† 673 April 14, 1931 June 28, 1935[3]
18 Frank McCormick 668 September 19, 1937 May 24, 1942
19 Sandy Alomar, Sr. 661 April 23, 1969 May 20, 1973
20 Eddie Brown 618 June 5, 1924 June 7, 1928
21 Roy McMillan 584 September 16, 1951 August 7, 1955
22 George Pinkney 577 September 21, 1885 April 30, 1890[4][5]
23 Steve Brodie 574
24 Aaron Ward 565 July 10, 1920 May 25, 1924
25 Prince Fielder 547 September 14, 2010 May 16, 2014[6]
26 Alex Rodriguez 546 July 25, 2000 September 23, 2003
27 Candy LaChance 540
28 Buck Freeman 535
29 Fred Luderus 533 June 2, 1916 September 28, 1919
30 Hideki Matsui 519 March 31, 2003 May 11, 2006

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."[7]

Thus it is possible for a pinch-runner to 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. Indeed, Juan Pierre appeared in 821 consecutive games from 2002 to 2007, but on June 3, 2005, he was used solely as a pinch runner. Under Rule 10.23(c), this resulted in separate games-played streaks of 386 and 434 games. [8]

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[9] 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[10] 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.[11][12] 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.[13]

Scott's streak was ended when Manager Miller Huggins benched him in favor of Pee Wee Wanninger.

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.[14] When the 1994–95 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.[15] 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.[16] 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.[17] Ripken's record is considered by many to be unbreakable.[18][19]

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.[20][21]

Consecutive innings

From June 5, 1982 to September 14, 1987, Ripken played 8,264 consecutive innings, which is believed to be a record, although not one that is officially kept by MLB. The second-longest streak known to have occurred is 5,152 consecutive innings by George Pinkney from 1885 to 1890. The World record for consecutive innings played is currently held by former Hanshin Tigers player and now coach Tomoaki Kanemoto playing 1492 games without missing an inning[22]

Combined Japanese–US 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 lasted for 518 games and is a MLB record for consecutive games to start a player's career. The entire combined streak stretched from August 22, 1993, to May 10, 2006, and was ended by a wrist injury sustained during what would have been his 519th consecutive game (see above). The MLB portion of the streak extended from March 31, 2003 (opening day), until May 10, 2006.[23]

See also

References

  1. ^ "24 X 7". Infoplease.com. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
  2. ^ Top 15 consecutive games played streaks
  3. ^ "The Earl of Snohomish". Research.sabr.org. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
  4. ^ The Miami News - Google News Archive Search
  5. ^ "News Article". News.google.com. December 30, 1925. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
  6. ^ Rangers' Prince Fielder's consecutive-games streak ends at 547
  7. ^ "Official Rules | MLB.com: Official info". Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
  8. ^ "Technicality Ends Pierre's Streak At 386 - Sun Sentinel". Articles.sun-sentinel.com. 2005-06-05. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
  9. ^ "Unofficial List of Records Set and Tied in 2006" (PDF). Sabr.org. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
  10. ^ "Wally Pipp and Lou Gehrig". snopes.com. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
  11. ^ [1] Archived March 9, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ "Gehrig's amazing streak | MLB.com: News". MLB.com. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
  13. ^ [2] Archived February 9, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ "The Streak survives criticism, M's brawl". baltimoresun.com. 2001-09-22. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
  15. ^ "Only strike stops roll, threatens The Streak". baltimoresun.com. 2001-09-23. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
  16. ^ "Memories play on, 10 years later". baltimoresun.com. 2005-09-06. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
  17. ^ "Calling his own number, Ripken ends the streak". baltimoresun.com. 2001-09-27. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
  18. ^ "2. Cal Ripken, Jr.'s Consecutive-Games Streak – Unbreakable Baseball Records". LIFE.com. See Your World LLC. Archived from the original on May 5, 2010.
  19. ^ Harkins, Bob (September 27, 2011). "Not all records are made to be broken". NBC Sports.com. Retrieved 2011-11-28.
  20. ^ "Streak over: Tejada placed on DL | MLB.com: News". Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
  21. ^ "Tejada closes door on streak | orioles.com: News". Baltimore.orioles.mlb.com. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
  22. ^ "Ripken's Record for Consecutive Innings Played". Retrieved 2013-07-16. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  23. ^ "Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees - Recap - May 11, 2006 - ESPN". Sports.espn.go.com. 2006-05-11. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
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