Baseball Guru
06-21-2002, 05:29 PM
By Brad Reid
The unbreakable record is a myth. It's no closer to reality than Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, or a date for myself with Cameron Diaz.
56, 61, 73, and 2,632. Any baseball fan can tell you what those numbers mean. Records can mean so much to us. We use adjectives like "hallowed", and "sacred" when describing them. They provide links to the great players and achievements of the past while setting the bar for the future. We like to believe in the records, because somehow it confirms the greatness of the players who set them.
It's fun to talk in absolutes - like "unbreakable record" - it makes a strong statement. Absolutes can make the speaker appear confident in what he's saying, or even more knowledgeable. To speak an absolute is almost to take a stand, or to draw a line in the sand. And if there's one thing sports fans love to do, it's take a position and bunker down - often behind a statement like "that record will never be broken" or "the [insert name of visiting team] really suck!"
But there is one simple truth - if something can be done once, it can be done again.
In 1941, beginning on May 15th, New York Yankees outfielder Joe DiMaggio hit safely in 56 consecutive games - with the streak not ending until July 17th in Cleveland, thanks to some strong defensive plays. Of course, adding to the mythos of the streak, is the lesser-known fact that following that one hitless afternoon, DiMaggio reeled off a 16-game hit streak. So if 56 seems imposing, imagine how impossible 73 would sound.
Yet, it is possible. With the collapse of some of baseball's most coveted records in recent years, such as the single-season home run record and consecutive games played streak, fans everywhere have slid the remaining records up higher on their "impossibility" charts. A .400 batting average may be achieved, and Bonds, Sosa, or Alex Rodriguez may replace Aaron some day, but today's one untouchable is DiMaggio's streak.
But if he could do it, then why couldn't another? Pete Rose once came close, falling only 12 games short. And other less notable players, such as Sandy Alomar Jr., have had streaks of 30 or more games. With a little more luck, maybe Rose would've had it - or maybe the player destined to set the new mark hasn't even been born yet. It's quite possibly the toughest record to challenge, and the hardest to reach, but it can be done.
Now there's a new challenger, Florida Marlins second baseman Luis Castillo. Already he's reached 32 games with his hit streak, after going 3-4 against Cleveland Tuesday night. It's been 15 years since we've seen a streak of this size. So far he's done what only 25 others in the history of the sport have done, reach 31 games with his streak. With one more game he'll have tied Rogers Horsnby for the all-time record by a second baseman.
"I hope it doesn't continue against us,'' Jim Thome of the Indians said. "But it is fun to watch.''
In many ways Castillo's the ideal player to break the record. He seems to make good contact with the ball, has the speed to leg out a hit or reach on a bunt, and doesn't walk too much, allowing him a few extra at-bats with which to get his hits. And while the pressure is sure to mount with time, playing in relative obscurity, in Florida, can have its advantages.
Will Castillo be the one to do it? Probably not. But that doesn't mean it can't be done.
As history passes and the precedents build up - as more and more players try and fail to reach 56 games, we start to believe that it just can't be done. And while 99% of the time we may be right, one day we'll all be wrong. Like in Russian Roulette, it only matters that you're wrong the one time.
In the meantime, people will go on believing the record to be unbreakable - and I'll keep hoping that next phone call will be from Ms. Diaz.
The unbreakable record is a myth. It's no closer to reality than Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, or a date for myself with Cameron Diaz.
56, 61, 73, and 2,632. Any baseball fan can tell you what those numbers mean. Records can mean so much to us. We use adjectives like "hallowed", and "sacred" when describing them. They provide links to the great players and achievements of the past while setting the bar for the future. We like to believe in the records, because somehow it confirms the greatness of the players who set them.
It's fun to talk in absolutes - like "unbreakable record" - it makes a strong statement. Absolutes can make the speaker appear confident in what he's saying, or even more knowledgeable. To speak an absolute is almost to take a stand, or to draw a line in the sand. And if there's one thing sports fans love to do, it's take a position and bunker down - often behind a statement like "that record will never be broken" or "the [insert name of visiting team] really suck!"
But there is one simple truth - if something can be done once, it can be done again.
In 1941, beginning on May 15th, New York Yankees outfielder Joe DiMaggio hit safely in 56 consecutive games - with the streak not ending until July 17th in Cleveland, thanks to some strong defensive plays. Of course, adding to the mythos of the streak, is the lesser-known fact that following that one hitless afternoon, DiMaggio reeled off a 16-game hit streak. So if 56 seems imposing, imagine how impossible 73 would sound.
Yet, it is possible. With the collapse of some of baseball's most coveted records in recent years, such as the single-season home run record and consecutive games played streak, fans everywhere have slid the remaining records up higher on their "impossibility" charts. A .400 batting average may be achieved, and Bonds, Sosa, or Alex Rodriguez may replace Aaron some day, but today's one untouchable is DiMaggio's streak.
But if he could do it, then why couldn't another? Pete Rose once came close, falling only 12 games short. And other less notable players, such as Sandy Alomar Jr., have had streaks of 30 or more games. With a little more luck, maybe Rose would've had it - or maybe the player destined to set the new mark hasn't even been born yet. It's quite possibly the toughest record to challenge, and the hardest to reach, but it can be done.
Now there's a new challenger, Florida Marlins second baseman Luis Castillo. Already he's reached 32 games with his hit streak, after going 3-4 against Cleveland Tuesday night. It's been 15 years since we've seen a streak of this size. So far he's done what only 25 others in the history of the sport have done, reach 31 games with his streak. With one more game he'll have tied Rogers Horsnby for the all-time record by a second baseman.
"I hope it doesn't continue against us,'' Jim Thome of the Indians said. "But it is fun to watch.''
In many ways Castillo's the ideal player to break the record. He seems to make good contact with the ball, has the speed to leg out a hit or reach on a bunt, and doesn't walk too much, allowing him a few extra at-bats with which to get his hits. And while the pressure is sure to mount with time, playing in relative obscurity, in Florida, can have its advantages.
Will Castillo be the one to do it? Probably not. But that doesn't mean it can't be done.
As history passes and the precedents build up - as more and more players try and fail to reach 56 games, we start to believe that it just can't be done. And while 99% of the time we may be right, one day we'll all be wrong. Like in Russian Roulette, it only matters that you're wrong the one time.
In the meantime, people will go on believing the record to be unbreakable - and I'll keep hoping that next phone call will be from Ms. Diaz.