Who has the safest career stat lead??

[jba]

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With teams in the NBA starting to run again and having success with it, a PG could come along to challenge Stockton's records as well. It's basically like 10 assts/gm for 15 full years. Someone will pass that eventually.


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15 full years would put you in the top five all time for games played. This is not an easy thing to do. After you accomplish this you have to average 10.5 a/game, which is something only magic and stockton have ever done. This is not an easy task in the least.

On the other hand take something like kareem's points record. Kareem only averaged 24.6 ppg, but it's his ridiculous games played stat that gives him the all time points lead. If Jordan or Wilt played many more games they would have crushed his record (arguably lowering their own averages, but still).

I did look into Wilt's alltime rebound record, that sucker looks pretty damn safe. He didn't play in that many games but 22.6 career average, damn...

[CheckFold]

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this is not evolution, it is understanding nutritiot, our genetics and form better. evolution could not have an impact in two generations. plus, humans who run slow are not getting taken out of the gene population. I think evolution is about... zero percent of this.

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I agree completely. I think in the 60s there was a huge advance in training and nutrition that saw athletes across the board make huge gains and bring us into the modern era. In the modern world, evolution would not create a bigger, stronger, and faster race of humans because we're fatter and lazier than ever before and our physical stature has virtually no baring on our survival.

Also, there was ONE high schooler who broke a 4 minute mile in like the last 35 years, that Alan Webb kid, and they made a huge deal out of him. Your typical NCAA All American will be right on the borderline of being able to break a 4 minute mile.

[CheckFold]

with the NBA though eventually you will have a kid who is able to break into the league at age 18 or 19 and play into his late 30s. I think Stockton's record will fall in the next 30 years.

[groo]

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I'd say that someone would pass Nolan Ryan on the strikeout list before someone passes Rickey Henderson's 1406 career SBs

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Ricky's SB record is incredible, but when steroid use wains and the long ball subsides, SB's become important again and some one will get there.

Ryan's 5700+ K's will be more difficult to reach, though better medical technology will keep hard throwers around longer in the future.

But no one will EVER even approach 511 wins.

[Chris Daddy Cool]

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but when steroid use wains and the long ball subsides, SB's become important again and some one will get there.


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this statement just irritates me. HR explosion was NOT due to seroids. throughout baseball history, the game has went through many cycles of offense defense, way before steroids were ever an issue.

[Zoltri]

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But no one will EVER even approach 511 wins.

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I think 300 wins would be a strech. If a pitcher started his career today, what is his motivation to play for 20 years with the wealth he achieves in five? And please don't tell me for the love of the game.

Tiger Woods is the only modern athlete that truly feels he wants to be the best and Nicklaus's records was his focus since he was old enough to remember.

[Justin A]

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Career records that will never be broken are ones where the underlying strategy of the game has changed to the point that the conditions that lead to the records don't exist anymore. Case in point is starting pitching in baseball. Records for wins, losses, innings pitched, etc. were set in an era when the starting pitcher's role was different than it is today. They were expected to pitch more innings per game and games per season. Many of them had lengthy careers because their arms were not subject to the injuries modern players get, and they had economic incentive to keep playing vs. having to get a real job.

Another example is stolen base records, and tangentally, the 3 base hit. The stolen base is becoming increasingly irrelevant to the modern power game. IF they decide to deaden the ball, which I can't forsee happening, then the stolen base could become important again.

I think all the NFL career dropkick records are safe too.

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Yes, I agree with the pitching records that won't ever get touched. However, you say old pitchers weren't subject to the same injuries. They were, it's just that the game was so different that a starting pitcher rarely threw pitches at max effort. They used to just bare down when they needed to with runners on base. Now the home run is such an important factor that pitcher throw at max effort on nearly every pitch.

I could conceivably see the stolen base record being broken in the future if the game changed quite a bit. If at some point in the future pitchers begin to dominate like they have at certain points in the past, the stolen base could become a huge weapon again.

[CheckFold]

Why does Doyle Brunson feel compelled to continue playing poker? Why does Bill Gates continue to work? You told me not to, but I'm going to go ahead and say for the love of the game. Pitching doesn't necessarily tear the body apart like what most football and even older basketball players will experience. It's very feasible for a very rich pitcher to want to continue to play into his 40s like Clemens, Johnson, Wells, etc... have done recently. Also, a lot of modern athletes seem to want to max out their lifestyle, so they'll try to keep the huge paydays coming as long as possible.

[Zoltri]

Good points.

[Voltron87]

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Why does Doyle Brunson feel compelled to continue playing poker? Why does Bill Gates continue to work? You told me not to, but I'm going to go ahead and say for the love of the game. Pitching doesn't necessarily tear the body apart like what most football and even older basketball players will experience. It's very feasible for a very rich pitcher to want to continue to play into his 40s like Clemens, Johnson, Wells, etc... have done recently. Also, a lot of modern athletes seem to want to max out their lifestyle, so they'll try to keep the huge paydays coming as long as possible.

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I agree with the part about pitching fitness. With the new styles of rotation and relief, combined with better team physicians and sports medecine in general, more and more pitchers are going to be doing what Clemens is doing. Maybe not quite as well, but you will se more of it. Pitching doesn't even begin to approach football, with the exception of maybe QB.

Pitchers today pitch every 5 days, for 100ish pitches... much less than in the past and with a much better support system.