5 Philadelphia Phillies records that will never be broken

The Philadelphia Phillies have had the privilege of housing several all-time legends, whose marks have been permanently etched into franchise lore. From the trio of Jimmy Rollins-Chase Utley-Ryan Howard to their predecessors in powder blue and red pinstripes, the ups and downs of the Phillies' success haven't stopped their players from shining individually.

This season, for instance, there's a chance that Kyle Schwarber creeps past Howard's single-season homer mark of 58. Other records, however, are untouchable, a testament to the quality of players the franchise has seen. Here are five insurmountable records from throughout Phillies franchise history.

5 Philadelphia Phillies records that will never be broken

Steve Carlton, 3,031 career strikeouts

Easily the best pitcher to have ever worn a Phillies uniform, Steve Carlton spent 15 seasons dominating hitters in Philadelphia. His overpowering fastball and cow-tailing slider led to four Cy Young Awards over a decade-long span, kicked off by a 12.1 bWAR, Triple Crown-winning 1972 campaign after being acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals.

Carlton's 3,031 career strikeouts with the Phillies is an unobtainable number for any pitcher playing today. It took Clayton Kershaw 18 seasons, and he was the most dominant pitcher of the 2010s.

That level of consistent, high-volume output is difficult to achieve, even with hitters swinging and missing more often. Mostly, that comes down to the length of starts. If pitchers only throw six or more innings occasionally, 200 strikeouts in a season becomes a difficult bar to reach.

That's without mentioning sticking with the franchise for that long. Fewer players stick with the teams that they came up with, and fewer owners appease players with reasonable contracts. That goes for nearly every counting stat record; players don't play enough, and neither side is loyal enough to achieve these records.

Aaron Nola would easily have the best shot of anyone active to break Carlton's mark, but his decline seems to be right around the corner as his 2025 struggles continue. He's still over 1,200 strikeouts away. If Nola's a longshot, so is the record.

Chuck Klein, 445 total bases in a single season

Chuck Klein's career started out about as hot as you can imagine. After two incredibly solid seasons in 1928 and 1929, year three in 1930 saw Klein post the second best OPS in franchise history, a 1.123 mark, with 40 homers and a solid 6.4 bWAR.

Those are the least impressive parts of that season. Klein's 1930 campaign saw him set three major single-season records with 59 doubles, 170 RBIs and a staggering 445 total bases.

As seemingly untouchable as the first two marks are, however, the total bases seems completely unreachable. Bobby Abreu came close with 50 doubles in 2002, but still a ways off, while 170 RBIs is too heavily reliant on situations. Total bases are reflective of a hitter's skill, indicative of average and power.

Enter Klein, whose total bases mark in that 1930 season ranks fourth all-time in the majors. That's marginally behind Babe Ruth (457), Rogers Hornsby (450), and Lou Gehrig (447), three titans of baseball. Howard (383) and Rollins (380) are the only modern Phillies who came close to Klein, and they were over 60 total bases away.

Robin Roberts, 402 career home runs allowed

Admittedly, it's difficult to shame the likes of Robin Roberts, who, like Carlton, is in the Phillies' all-time starting rotation. He's one of nine Phillies to have their number retired and was the first inductee into the team's Wall of Fame.

It's undeniable that Roberts has had a lasting legacy playing in Philadelphia. It's equally undeniable that he gave up a lot of home runs. He is second all-time in MLB with 505 home runs allowed. In a Phillies uniform, Roberts amassed 402 of his total mark, which, for spending 14 seasons in Philadelphia, is a remarkable pace.

It's the pitfall of pitching as much as Roberts did. Throwing over 300 innings a year for an entire decade, as Roberts did during the 1950s, is bound to lead to quite a few hits and homers.

Carlton is second with 286, while Nola is the active leader with 214. It would take a hearty mix of longevity and mistakes made to reach that number. For everyone's sake, let's hope it's not approached.

Jimmy Rollins, 20-20-20-20 club

In 2007, after seven seasons of hovering near league-average hitting, Rollins exploded.

Known for being a defense- and speed-first player, Rollins wouldn't wow with the bat but amassed plenty of extra bases. Doubles and triples were easy, as were stolen bases. In his first six full seasons, Rollins finished with 10 or more triples every season but two, and 30 or more steals in all but one.

In a tidal wave of a 2007 season, building off his previous year's career highs in homers and doubles, Rollins registered 38 doubles, 20 triples, 30 homers, and 41 steals — a 20-20-20-20 season — which only three other MLB players have managed: Frank Schulte, Willie Mays and Curtis Granderson.

Of course, Rollins didn't get his 20th triple until one of the last games of the season, on Sept. 30, helping the Phillies clinch the NL East for the first time since 1993. He simultaneously clinched the NL MVP in a dramatic finish to the season, both for Rollins and the team.

Such combinations of power and speed are already rare enough. Amassed in a single season, as seen by the slim and elite company of that four-man list, is something that the baseball world will likely never see again.

Mike Schmidt, 2,404 career games played

This record questions whether anyone should break it as much as it does if anyone can. In short: No, to both.

There will never be another Michael Jack Schmidt to play for the Phillies. He is the face of the franchise. He should hold all the records he does, of which there are a litany. The Phillies are not the franchise they are today without Schmidt manning the hot corner for two decades.

At 2,404 games played, Schmidt is about three full seasons ahead of the next most games played as a Phillie (Rollins had 2,090). But that's not all. There's also the other records Schmidt holds: bWAR (106.9), plate appearances (10,062), total bases (4,404); home runs (548), strikeouts (1,883).

Schmidt played a lot and always produced. There's a reason he's a three-time MVP, won 10 Gold Gloves and was inducted into the Hall of Fame on his first ballot. He was a legend, the most accurate definition of one.

The record will stand, and it should, because there will never be another like Schmidt.

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