List of Major League Baseball career records

In Major League Baseball (MLB), records play an integral part in evaluating a player's impact on the sport. Holding a career record almost guarantees a player eventual entry into the Baseball Hall of Fame because it represents both longevity and consistency over a long period of time.

Batting records (1875–present)

Josh Gibson, who played 510 games in the Negro League, holds the record for highest batting average, slugging percentage, and on-base plus slugging in a career.

Barry Bonds holds the career home run and single-season home run records.

Ichiro Suzuki collected 262 hits in 2004, breaking George Sisler's 84-year-old record for most hits in a season.

Record	Player	#	Refs
Highest batting average	Josh Gibson	.372
Most singles	Pete Rose	3,215	[1]
Most doubles	Tris Speaker	792	[2]
Most triples	Sam Crawford	309	[3]
Most home runs	Barry Bonds	762	[4]
Most grand slams	Alex Rodriguez	25
Most home runs by a pitcher	Wes Ferrell	37
Most grand slams by a pitcher	shared by Madison Bumgarner and Tony Cloninger	2	[5] [6]
Oldest player to hit first home run	Bartolo Colón	42 years, 349 days old	[7]
Youngest player to hit a home run	Tommy Brown	17 years, 257 days old	[8]
Most runs batted in	Hank Aaron	2,297	[9]
Most hits	Pete Rose	4,256	[10]
Most runs scored	Rickey Henderson	2,295	[11]
Highest on-base percentage	Ted Williams	.482	[12]
Most stolen bases	Rickey Henderson	1,406	[13]
Most steals of home	Ty Cobb	54
Highest slugging percentage	Josh Gibson	.718
Highest on-base plus slugging	Josh Gibson	1.177
Most five hit games	Ty Cobb	14
Most four hit games	Ty Cobb	87
Most three hit games	Ty Cobb	399
Most two hit games	Pete Rose	1,225
Most one hit games	Pete Rose	2,561
Most walks	Barry Bonds	2,558	[14]
Most intentional walks	Barry Bonds	688	[15]
Most strikeouts	Reggie Jackson	2,597	[16]
Most at-bats	Pete Rose	14,555	[17]
Most total bases	Hank Aaron	6,856	[18]
Most runs created	Barry Bonds	2,892	[19]
Most games played	Pete Rose	3,562	[20]
Most hits	Pete Rose	4,256

Pitching records (1876–present)

Cy Young, the Major League record holder for most career wins, losses, innings pitched, and complete games.

Record	Player	#
Most wins	Cy Young	511
Most losses	Cy Young	316
Most no-hitters	Nolan Ryan	7
Most strikeouts	Nolan Ryan	5,714
Most shutouts	Walter Johnson	110
Most starts	Cy Young	815
Most pickoffs	Steve Carlton	144
Most innings pitched	Cy Young	7,354+2⁄3
Most hit batsmen	Gus Weyhing	278
Most home runs allowed	Jamie Moyer	522
Most complete games	Cy Young	749
Lowest earned-run average	Ed Walsh	1.82
Lowest walks plus hits per inning pitched	Addie Joss	.968
Most saves	Mariano Rivera	652
Highest win–loss percentage	Spud Chandler	71.7%
Most games	Jesse Orosco	1,252
Most consecutive scoreless innings pitched	Orel Hershiser	59 [a]

Live-ball era (1920–present)

(if different from overall records)

Record	Player	#
Most wins	Warren Spahn	363
Most losses	Nolan Ryan	292
Lowest earned-run average	Mariano Rivera	2.21
Most shutouts	Warren Spahn	63
Most innings pitched	Phil Niekro	5,404+1⁄3
Most complete games	Warren Spahn	382
Lowest Walks plus hits per inning pitched	Mariano Rivera	1.000

Catcher records

• Most runners caught stealing: 810, Deacon McGuire ^[21]
• Most stolen bases allowed: 1,498, Deacon McGuire ^[22]
• Most stolen base attempts: 2,308, Deacon McGuire
• Highest caught stealing %: 57.40%, Roy Campanella ^[23]
• Most games caught: 2,427, Iván Rodríguez ^[24]
• Most caught no hitters: 4, Jason Varitek, May 19, 2008 and Carlos Ruiz, July 25, 2015.

Other records

• Most World Series wins (as a player/coach/manager/executive): 17, Frankie Crosetti ^[25]
• Most World Series wins (as a player): 10, Yogi Berra ^[26]
• Most World Series wins (as a manager): 7, Casey Stengel, Joe McCarthy
• Most consecutive World Series wins (as a manager): 5, Casey Stengel
• Most pennants won: 10, Casey Stengel, John McGraw
• Most World Series appearances (as a manager): 10, Casey Stengel
• Most World Series appearances (as a team): 40, New York Yankees
• Most World Series titles (as a team): 27, New York Yankees
• Most MVP Awards won: 7, Barry Bonds
• Most consecutive games played: 2,632, Cal Ripken Jr.

See also

• Baseball portal

• List of Major League Baseball single-game records
• List of Major League Baseball single-season records
• List of Major League Baseball records considered unbreakable

Notes

1. Even though Hershiser's 59 consecutive scoreless innings occurred completely within the 1988 season, other pitchers have had streaks spanning more than one season. Thus, it is necessary to put the record over a career.

References

1. "Career Leaders & Records for Singles". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
2. "Career Leaders & Records for Doubles". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
3. "Career Leaders & Records for Triples". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
4. "Career Leaders & Records for Home Runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
5. "Atlanta Braves at San Francisco Giants Box Score, July 3, 1966". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 9, 2020. Atlanta Braves at San Francisco Giants Box Score, July 3, 1966
6. "Giants' Madison Bumgarner Becomes 2nd Pitcher with 2 Grand Slams in a Season". BleacherReport.com. Retrieved October 9, 2020. Giants' Madison Bumgarner Becomes 2nd Pitcher with 2 Grand Slams in a Season
7. "Single-Season Leaders & Records for Total Bases". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 27, 2012. Mets Pitcher Bartolo Colon Becomes Oldest Player to Hit First Home Run
8. "Home Run Records by Age". Baseball-Almanac.com. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
9. "Career Leaders & Records for Runs Batted In". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
10. "Career Leaders & Records for Hits". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
11. "Career Leaders & Records for Runs Scored". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
12. "Career Leaders & Records for On-Base%". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
13. "Career Leaders & Records for Stolen Bases". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
14. "Career Leaders & Records for Bases on Balls". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
15. "Career Leaders & Records for Intentional Bases on Balls". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
16. "Career Leaders & Records for Strikeouts". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
17. "Career Leaders & Records for At Bats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
18. "Career Leaders & Records for Total Bases". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
19. "Career Leaders & Records for Runs Created". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
20. "Career Leaders & Records for Games Played". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
21. "Career Leaders &Records for Caught Stealing as C - Baseball-Reference.com" . Retrieved 30 March 2017.
22. "Career Leaders &Records for Stolen Bases Allowed as C - Baseball-Reference.com" . Retrieved 30 March 2017.
23. "Career Leaders &Records for Caught Stealing % - Baseball-Reference.com" . Retrieved 30 March 2017.
24. "Career Leaders & Records for Def. Games as C".
25. "Frankie Crosetti - Society for American Baseball Research". SABR. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
26. Markazi, Arash (23 September 2015). "Phil Jackson, Bill Russell among few in same breath as Yogi Berra". ESPN.com. Retrieved 19 August 2023.

External links

• All-time records at Baseball-Reference.com
• Unbreakable Baseball Records – slideshow by Life magazine