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As we get to the top of The Stud 400 over the next handful of weeks, we’re going to be covering some accomplishments that we’ll likely never see again in our lifetimes. Things that are so preposterous and are such outliers that it’s an absolute shock anyone was able to accomplish them at all.
This week, we have two such events: Rickey Henderson’s career stolen base record and Cal Ripken’s consecutive games streak.
If you take a look at the career stolen base leaders list, Henderson has essentially lapped the field. His 1,406 stolen bases are 33% more than Lou Brock’s 938 and you only have to get down to Joe Morgan in 11th place to find folks whose totals he has doubled. There have been 23,518 players to have played Major League Baseball in the game’s history through June 2025 and Henderson has 1,000 more stolen bases than all but 70 of them.
Ripken’s streak of 2,632 might be even more impressive. Lou Gehrig reached 2,130 consecutive games and even that was an insane total. Gehrig bested the previous total of 1,307 which was set by Everett Scott from 1916-1925. A century after Scott’s streak ended, he still remains in third place on the list. As impressive as Scott’s total is, it still isn’t even halfway to Ripken’s mark.
Steve Garvey still holds the National League record for consecutive games with 1,207 and besides that, only Miguel Tejada (1,152), Billy Williams (1,117) and Joe Sewell (1,103) have played in 1,000 straight games.
The current leader is Matt Olson, whose 694 straight games is very impressive for this day and age. When he reaches his 700th straight game this week, he’ll become just the 16th player ever to reach that milestone. As incredibly impressive as that is, he isn’t even in the same universe as Ripken.
There are just so many bananas facts about Ripken’s streak. Would you believe there are only 27 Hall of Famers who played more than 2,632 games in the field in their entire careers? Babe Ruth, Rogers Hornsby, Mickey Mantle, Mike Schmidt, Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio are just some of the guys who didn’t even play 2,632 games in their entire careers, let alone consecutively.
In the span of his streak, Wade Boggs played in the second most games during that time with 2,335. Ripken and Boggs were two of the nine Hall of Famers to have played in at least 2,000 games during that span. Rickey Henderson, Paul Molitor, Tony Gwynn, Harold Baines, Eddie Murray and Tim Raines were the others. Ripken faced 526 pitchers during that time and played in 25 different ballpakrs during the streak.
Like I said, as we climb the ranks of The Stud 400, we’re bound to find some jaw-dropping information.
Before we move on to this week’s edition of The Stud 400, here’s a look at the last five entries as we count down the 400 greatest moments in Major League Baseball history:
35: Hank Aaron sets career RBI record (1975)
34: First Hall of Fame election (1936)
33 :Johnny Vander Meer back-to-back no-hitters (1938)
32: Larry Doby integrates the American League (1947)
31: Pete Rose banned from baseball (1989)
And now, here’s Episode LXXXI of The Stud 400.
30. Babe Ruth’s Called Shot (1932)
30. Babe Ruth’s Called Shot (1932)Babe Ruth’s home run in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series wasn’t really his most impactful. The Yankees were already up 2-0 in the series on the way to a sweep and neither of the first two games were particularly close. The Yankees had won 107 games that season while the Cubs finished 90-64. Either way, we’re still talking about Babe’s home run nearly a century later because this was Babe Ruth’s famous—alleged—called shot.
The home run itself snapped a 4-4 tie and sent the Yankees on the way to a 7-5 win. We’ve heard all the details. Grainy footage exists of Ruth raising his arm. It’s hard to see where exactly he is pointing, but we do have a clear idea of where the controversy started. Baseball reporter Joe Williams wrote a headline in that day’s late edition newspaper that read, “RUTH CALLS SHOT AS HE PUTS HOME RUN NO. 2 IN SIDE POCKET.” The paper was widely circulated and the legend of Babe Ruth’s called shot began immediately. Other reporters began writing stories and before you knew it, the story had spread across the country in days.
Another respected writer, Damon Runyon, at the same time described it differently. He wrote, “[Ruth] engaged in brisk repartee with the Cubs [dugout], and the fans. He made gestures with his hands in case his voice was not heard.” William McCullough of the Brooklyn Times-Union said that Ruth gestured towards the Cubs dugout that he was going to hit one out. At first, Ruth played it off saying that he was gesturing towards the Cubs dugout that he had one strike left as the count was 2-2. However, never one to miss an opportunity to add to his legend, Ruth changed his tale to claim he indeed call his home run.
Eyewitness accounts vary. Cubs PA announcer Pat Pieper, who was seated between home plate and third base, said, “Don’t let anybody tell you differently. Babe definitely pointed. You bet your life Babe Ruth called it.” Lou Gehrig said, “What do you think of the nerve of that big monkey? Imagine the guy calling his shot and getting away with it!” Yankees catcher Bill Dickey claimed that Ruth was just pointing at pitcher Charlie Root complaining about a quick pitch. Meanwhile, Yankees trainer Erle Painter said, “Ruth swept his left arm full length and pointed to the center field fence.” Babe Herman said that when he was on the set of The Pride of the Yankees, both Root and Ruth were in attendance. Herman said he heard Root question Ruth on whether he pointed or not. Ruth supposedly said, “I know I didn’t, but it made a hell of story.” The only things we know for sure is that we’ll never know the real truth and it still remains one of the most iconic moments in baseball history.
29. Gas House Gang Wins World Series (1926)
29. Gas House Gang Wins World Series (1926)OK, so we highlighted one of the highlights of Babe Ruth’s career, now it’s time to examine one of the rare times he played the role of goat, and we’re not talking about the anagram for “greatest of all time.”
The 1926 World Series featured the Yankees, who had already established themselves as a dynasty, and the Cardinals who had just won their first National League pennant. Many point to the 1926 season as the birth of the Gas House Gang Cardinals, known for their aggressive and successful style of play. The Yankees were up three games to two and had the final two games at Yankees Stadium, so as good as the Cardinals were, it was an uphill climb to say the least. The Cards blew out the Yankees 10-2 in Game 6 to set up a decisive Game 7. It was the third year in a row the World Series went seven games, but just the fifth Game 7 in Series history.
Hall of Famers Jesse Haines and Waite Hoyt made for an excellent pitching matchup and the Yankees broke on top first on a solo homer by Ruth in the third. The Cardinals answered with three unearned runs in the top of the fourth and carried a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the sixth, but the Yankees were able to draw one run closer on a double by Hank Severeid. In the seventh, the Yankees loaded the bases with Hall of Famers Earle Combs, Ruth and Lou Gehrig and starter Jesse Haines had to come out of the game due to a blister. Cardinals manager Rogers Hornsby turned to the iconic Grover Cleveland Alexander to get out of the jam even though he had pitched a complete game the day before. Alexander nearly gave up a grand slam to another Hall of Famer, Tony Lazzeri, who had enough distance, but missed it just foul. He then struck out Lazzeri to end the threat. Alexander got through the eighth easily and then retired the first two batters of the ninth. The last person Alexander was going to have to face at this point was Ruth. Ruth drew a walk on a borderline 3-2 pitch.
Left fielder Bob Meusel was up now with the tying run on first and Gehrig in the on-deck circle. Meusel had just tagged Alexander for a double and triple the day before, so the Yankees had life. On the first pitch however, Ruth shockingly broke for second base. Cardinals catcher Bob O’Farrell fired a strike down to Rogers Hornsby at second, who slapped the tag down on Ruth to end the game and series. To this day, it remains the only World Series to end on a caught stealing. A dejected Ruth simply said that he thought he would catch them by surprise. This didn’t set Ruth and the Yankees back too much though. They returned to the World Series in 1927, ’28 and ’32 and won all three via sweep.
28. Carlton Fisk Home Run (1975)
28. Carlton Fisk Home Run (1975)Over the course of Major League Baseball history, there have been about a quarter of a million games played, so when a game is generally considered among the top two or three games ever played, that says a lot. Game 6 of the 1975 World Series is certainly in that category and in the conversation as the single best game ever played.
The Big Red Machine was looking for a coronation after losing two World Series earlier in the decade and the Red Sox were looking to break their decades-long drought. The Reds were up three games to two as the series shifted back to Fenway and because of a travel day and a three-day rainstorm, the teams actually got four games off mid-series. When the World Series resumed, the teams were rested and ready to put on an all-time classic.
The Red Sox struck in the first inning when Fred Lynn belted a 3-run homer to give Boston an early lead. The Reds answered in the fifth with three runs of their own and the game went to the seventh still tied at three. It got wacky from there. George Foster gave the Reds a lead with a two-run double and Cesar Geronimo hit what looked to be a back-breaking homer in the eighth. The Red Sox hadn’t done a thing since Lynn’s homer in the first and now they were down three with six outs left in their season. The Red Sox got their first two runners on base, but hope was fading as Rawly Eastwick retired Dwight Evans and Rick Burleson. The Sox sent up Bernie Carbo as a pinch hitter and he worked the count to 2-2. Carbo looked awful fouling off two pitches to stay alive, but then got one in a spot he liked and hit a dramatic game-tying homer to center. The Sox almost ended things in the bottom of the ninth when they loaded the bases with no-outs, but Denny Doyle was thrown out by a step attempting to score on a sacrifice fly. Carlton Fisk and Evans made fantastic defensive plays to get the Sox through the 11th inning, setting up the dramatic 12th inning.
Pat Darcy had retired the first six Red Sox he faced and was set to square off against Fisk, who was leading off the ninth. With a 1-0 count, Fisk dropped his bat head on a sinker and blasted a shot down the left field line. We have all seen the imagery of Fisk jumping and waving the ball fair and his leap to the heavens when the ball hit the foul pole, sending the Sox off victorious. The homer not only sent the series to Game 7—where the Reds would get their ultimate revenge—but it also gave us some of the most dramatic footage in baseball history. A great story is that Fisk actually used Burleson’s bat for the homer. Fisk had caught all 12 innings and, feeling tired, he wanted a lighter bat than what he typically used. In 2011, MLB Network listed this game as the greatest game played since 1961.
You could extend that back another sixty years and get little argument on that.
27. Rickey Henderson passes Lou Brock (1991)
27. Rickey Henderson passes Lou Brock (1991)On May 1, 1991, Rickey Henderson took a microphone and declared, “Today, I am the greatest of all-time.” We’re not anyone to argue with Rickey and neither is anyone else, especially when the numbers back him up.
That statement was, of course, in reference to Henderson passing Brock to become baseball’s all-time stolen base king. Going into the 1991 season, Henderson needed just three steals to get to pass Brock and even though he attempted five steals in his first six games, he was thrown out four times. The record-breaking day came in his seventh game of the season, a home contest against the Yankees. Henderson led off the first with a walk, but was caught stealing by Matt Nokes on his first attempt at the record.
He was not to be denied his next time on base.
Henderson reached on an error in the fourth and advanced to second on a single. With Harold Baines at the plate, Henderson broke for third early in the count and slid in safely for his historic 939th steal. From there, Henderson kept going. He led his league in steals 12 times and finished with an unfathomable 1,406 stolen bases. He’s so far ahead of everyone else that it’s not even worth breaking down. The current active leader is Starling Marte with 358 steals. Henderson reached that total in his fourth full season when he was 24 years old.
Yeah, this one isn’t getting touched. Rickey is indeed the greatest of all time.
26. Cal Ripken passes Lou Gehrig (1995)
26. Cal Ripken passes Lou Gehrig (1995)Of all the insane stats and preposterous accomplishments in Major League Baseball’s long history, Cal Ripken’s consecutive games streak is right up there with the most unfathomable things to ever happen in the sport.
Ripken’s streak began on May 30, 1982 and he didn’t come out of the lineup until September 19, 1998. Putting it in pop culture terms, Ripken’s streak began while the Lawrence Welk Show was still on the air and lasted right through the debut of Dawson’s Creek.
Ripken not only passed Lou Gehrig’s mark of 2,130 consecutive games, but he blew by it by 502 games—about three seasons—and ended with 2,632 straight games. Within the streak, Ripken also set the record for most consecutive innings played with an insane 8,264 straight innings. The previous mark was held by George Pinkney who played in 5,152 straight innings from 1885-1890. Load management, my ass.
Ripken passed Gehrig on September 16, 1995 and there are many iconic videos and images from the game. How great was the giant games tracker on the B & O Warehouse? That shot of the counter when it went from 2,130 to 2,131 is phenomenal, as are the photos of Ripken taking his curtain call and celebratory lap with that magic number in the background. Ripken decided to end the streak on his own, taking a day off in late 1998. He was replaced in the lineup by Ryan Minor, who passed away in 2023.
Stay tuned for next week’s episode of The Stud 400 when we revisit a financial transaction that may or may not be the equivalent of construction of the Death Star. We’re going to be perfect and imperfect on the game’s biggest stage. But no fear, we are going to get retribution for that imperfection as well. After next week, there are only four more installments of The Stud 400 and then she is gone. Be sure not to miss it!
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