The Real (and Should Be) Kings of Baseball's Stats

Hey boys and girls. Well much has happened since my last post but with all the revelations of improper conduct on behalf of many of baseball's biggest stars I felt it necessary to show the real record holders in baseball history, as well as many "should be" record holders as well. Here we go...


All-Time Home Run King- Hank Aaron
Followed by:
2. Babe Ruth
3. Willie Mays
4. Ken Griffey Jr.
5. Frank Robinson
6. Harmon Killebrew
7. Jim Thome
8. Reggie Jackson
9. Mike Schmidt
10. Mickey Mantle

Overview: It makes me sick to think how many of the guys I grew up idolizing that are on the list of steroid users. Though it does make me happy to have Mickey Mantle back in the top 10. I hope the next generation does not have to live with the skepticism and cynicism when watching baseball.


Single Season Home Run King (by player)- Roger Maris
Followed By:
2. Babe Ruth
3. Jimmie Foxx
4. Hank Greenberg
5. Ryan Howard

Overview: Though Ruth carried had multiple great home run hitting years, I had to divide it by player. With the omission of 6 seasons by 3 different players it is indicative of how tarnished and tainted this record has become. In my mind, Maris is without question the holder of this record. No asterisks because of seasons, and no doubts Maris is the true record holder.

All Time Career Hit Record- Ichiro Suzuki
Followed by:
2. Pete Rose
3. Derek Jeter
4. Ty Cobb
5. Hank Aaron

Overview: Okay, I know that Ichiro just reached 2,000 hits. But what I am saying here is that if he played his entire career in the Majors, he would have easily accumulated enough to take the title from Rose. If we translated his stats from the Japanese League, that means we add roughly 1,700 hits (but let's not forget he was actually better in the majors then in Japan). Right now Ichiro would be approaching Hank Aaron (who stands at 3,771) and would be three good years from topping Rose. As for the Derek Jeter portion of this list, there are a few points to be made. First, Jeter is creeping up on 3,000 at the age of 35. Now, common sense may point to the fact that old age will slow Jeter down. However, over the past three years he has had averages of .348, .322, and .322. So the idea that Jeter will slow down soon is starting to become as absurd as people who are waiting for Rivera to break down. Jeter has two more years on his contract but you have to think he is going to play more than that. So let's assume that conservatively he plays 5 more years. Assuming he hits .200 then Jeter will collect 500 more hits which will put him around 3,200 hits. That is truly the worst case scenario for Jeter. But let's face it. The Yankees will let Jeter play as long as he wants. They will not force him out, or "Bernie Williams" it. Jeter 1,000 more hits to be where I put him on this list, and guess what? Just like his career, he will shock everyone.


Who Could be the Next 300 Game Winner: C.C. Sabathia
Followed By:
2. Felix Hernandez
3. Tim Wakefield


Overview: Ok, now let's get to business. C.C. is the guy who I chose for a couple of reasons. First, his contract is long and it will give him plenty of time to accumulate wins for a team that is very successful. Second, his wins could be increased by 2-4 wins based on the potential for postseason victories. So in reality, a 16 win season could turn into a 19 or 20 game season. Sabathia has 132 wins at the age of 29. Conservatively, let's say that he wins 15 games over 7 years (the length of his contract) then that is 105 more giving him a total of 237 wins by the age of 36. Barring significant injury, he could pitch for at least 4 more years. Now assuming the same win total per season, that would give him 60 more wins which puts him at 297. Now the more likely figure is that C.C. wins on average (counting the postseason) 19 games a year. This would give him 265 and there are enough bad teams who want veteran pitching and would love to watch him get 300. As for Hernandez, there is a pretty good chance he can do some damage in terms of wins. But first he must get out of Seattle. He currently has 53 wins at the age of 23. Let's assume that he plays until he is 35 (though he will probably pitch much longer) and wins 15 games a year. That gives him 180 over that time and 233 for his career. That puts him in great position to go after 300. But he is a young guy. Let's discuss Wakefield. I know that people will get on my for putting the elderly knuckleballer on this list. But let's consider the following. He has 180 career wins at the age of 43. So he needs 120, but guess what? He is a knuckleballer! Throw out what you thought about pitchers. He could literally pitch until 53. And if he did that, he could easily win 12 games a year, giving him just what he needs to get to 300. The only question with Wakefield would be, would he want to pitch that long? Because poor teams (Royals and Orioles I'm talking to you) would gladly take a pitcher who can be .500. If only he wanted to pitch that long.