MLB consecutive games played streaks
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Listed below are the 15 longest consecutive games played streaks in Major League Baseball history.
| Rank | Name | # | First game | Last game |
| 1. | Cal Ripken, Jr. | 2632 | May 30, 1982 | September 19, 1998 |
| 2. | Lou Gehrig | 2130 | June 1, 1925 | April 30, 1939 |
| 3. | Everett Scott | 1307 | June 20, 1916 | May 5, 1925 |
| 4. | Steve Garvey | 1207 | September 3, 1975 | July 29, 1983 |
| 5. | Billy Williams | 1117 | September 22, 1963 | September 2, 1970 |
| 6. | Joe Sewell | 1103 | September 13, 1922 | April 30, 1930 |
| 7. | Miguel Tejada | 1080 | June 2, 2000 | October 1, 2006 (active) |
| 8. | Stan Musial | 895 | April 15, 1952 | August 22, 1957 |
| 9. | Eddie Yost | 829 | April 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 |
[edit] Notes
- 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.
- Ripken played 8,243 consecutive innings from June 5, 1982 to September 14, 1987. This is believed to be a record, although not one that is officially kept by MLB.
- 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 .
- Lou Gehrig's streak started as a pinch-hitter. The next day he started at first base in place of slumping Wally Pipp (contrary to legend, Pipp did not have a headache), 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.
- 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 all-time National League record is less than half the length of Ripken's. His streak was ended when he broke his thumb in a home plate collision against the Atlanta Braves.
- Tejada's streak is active. It had reached 1,080 games as of the end of the 2006 season. To break Ripken's record, Tejada would have to play every game until about halfway through the 2016 season, when he will be forty years old.
- Ripken, Gehrig, Williams, Musial, Yost, Suhr, Fox, Murphy, Ashburn and Banks played for one single team for the entirety of their streaks.
- Gehrig, Williams, Sewell, Musial, Fox, Ashburn, and Banks are members of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Ripken will be eligible for induction in 2007.
- MLB's rule 10.24(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." This peculiar rule means that a pinch-runner can come into a game, steal a base, get caught stealing, and even score a run, but still will not be credited with a game played if he does not stay in the game afterward. Similarly, a player can take the field and contribute to the game in many ways--field a ball in play, make a putout, make an assist, commit an error--but is not credited with a game played if he does not play an entire half inning.
