300?
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Mr. Bonds hit his 755th home run a couple nights ago, tying him with Hank Aaron for the all time lead. He will finish this season with around 770. That's what the mark will be for A-Rod, who became the youngest player to hit 500 homers. So you see, that number is attainable.
On the other hand, Tom Glavine got his 300th win the other night. This number may be farther away from being seen again than any other number in baseball. The closest people to it are Randy Johnson at 284, but he's going to try and comeback after his 2nd back surgery at 42 years old. Mike Mussina at 245 is a grinder and a Yankee, but what happens when his contract is up at the end of the season? Are you throwing 10 million at an aging guy again? With the current swirl around the YES network being up for sale, and the rumors of "The Boss'" health in decline, the Yankees could be also. David Wells has 235 wins, but he's a coronary waiting to happen. You can't carry that weight and get another 65. 225 sees Jamie Moyer who spends too much time on the DL. Curt Schilling is at 213, but he came up in 1986. Do the math. Pedro Martinez is in the 200 club by 6, and he has no chance of getting a sniff of 300.
Cal Ripken's 2,632 consecutive games, Rickey Henderson's 1,406 stolen bases, and Pete Rose's 4,256 hits are astronomical numbers. Even Barry's 73 homers in a season is mind blowing, but fresh in our collective memory. Baseball is a numbers game, and these numbers may be imaginable but only if you're a fan. 300 wins has been placed into a new group of numbers - the numbers that are set in stone as we watch these things happen. The one caveat to 300 wins is that most team's starters are only going 6 innings an outing and bullpens are the soft underbelly of the team. Long gone are the days of complete games and dominate closers going one inning.
Professor's Note and Poll: This article was written by my partner in crime, Whitey. The link below is a poll of some of the "unattainable" numbers in baseball. Feel free to add your own with the "Other" answer.
THE POLL IS HERE
