Breaking his own record

[Appling]

I have read that Babe Ruth liked nothing better than breaking his own MLB record, in any department. Especially famous of course was his record for homeruns in a single season: 29 in 1919, followed by 50 in 1920, 59 in 1921, and finally 60 in 1927.
Edit (Correction): Ruth hit 54 homeruns in 1920.

But even more amazing is his MLB record for most career homeruns. Ruth was able to set a new standard for career homeruns rather early, when he finished the 1921 season with 162 "lifetime" homeruns. Every season he continued to play Ruth would set a new record for career homeruns -- a total of 15 times, until he retired with an amazing 714 homeruns.

Eventually of course this record was broken by Hank Aaron. At the end of the 1974 season Hank had set a new MLB record with 733 career homeruns -- which he then advanced to 745 in 1975 and finally 755 when he retired in 1976. So Hank set a new record for career homeruns a total of 3 times -- compared with 15 times for Ruth.

Can you find any other hitting (or pitching) record in which the record holder broke his own record eight or more times?

[Honus Wagner Rules]

I have read that Babe Ruth liked nothing better than breaking his own MLB record, in any department. Especially famous of course was his record for homeruns in a single season: 29 in 1919, followed by 50 in 1920, 59 in 1921, and finally 60 in 1927.

But even more amazing is his MLB record for most career homeruns. Ruth was able to set a new standard for career homeruns rather early, when he finished the 1921 season with 162 "lifetime" homeruns. Every season he continued to play Ruth would set a new record for career homeruns -- a total of 15 times, until he retired with an amazing 714 homeruns.

Eventually of course this record was broken by Hank Aaron. At the end of the 1974 season Hank had set a new MLB record with 733 career homeruns -- which he then advanced to 745 in 1975 and finally 755 when he retired in 1976. So Hank set a new record for career homeruns a total of 3 times -- compared with 15 times for Ruth.

Can you find any other hitting (or pitching) record in which the record holder broke his own record eight or more times?

I don't understand this logic. Aaron broke his own HR record 40 times going from 715 to 755. Of course Ruth broke his career HR record almost 600 times going from 127 (?) to 714.

[Tigerfan1974]

I have read that Babe Ruth liked nothing better than breaking his own MLB record, in any department. Especially famous of course was his record for homeruns in a single season: 29 in 1919, followed by 50 in 1920, 59 in 1921, and finally 60 in 1927.

But even more amazing is his MLB record for most career homeruns. Ruth was able to set a new standard for career homeruns rather early, when he finished the 1921 season with 162 "lifetime" homeruns. Every season he continued to play Ruth would set a new record for career homeruns -- a total of 15 times, until he retired with an amazing 714 homeruns.

Eventually of course this record was broken by Hank Aaron. At the end of the 1974 season Hank had set a new MLB record with 733 career homeruns -- which he then advanced to 745 in 1975 and finally 755 when he retired in 1976. So Hank set a new record for career homeruns a total of 3 times -- compared with 15 times for Ruth.

Can you find any other hitting or pitching record in which the record holder broke his own record eight or more times?

Well, theoretically, They set a new record every time they hit another home run.
Ruth broke his own record over 500 times.
Aaron broke his own record 40 times.

I don't know what the Strikeout record was when Nolan broke it, but I would think he broke his own record over a thousand times!!

[Edgartohof]

I don't understand this logic. Aaron broke his own HR record 40 times going from 715 to 755. Of course Ruth broke his career HR record almost 600 times going from 127 (?) to 714.

Well, if you take it literally, then yes, it was broken several hundred times, but he is obviously looking more at the season as a whole for that record...

It's kind of like how record books aren't written until after the season is over, they don't write one for each HR (generally speaking).

[RuthMayBond]

Barry Bonds has broken the season and career walks record & career intentional walks record more than once, the single-season HR record.
I imagine Walter Johnson broke the career strikeout record several times.
Cobb broke the games record 3x, AB 3x, R 4x, H 6x, TB 5x, 1B 5x, XBH 4x
Aaron broke the games record 3x, AB 3x, TB 5x, RBI 2x, XBH 4x
Rose broke the games record 3x, AB 4x, H 2x, 1B 3x
Anson broke the G record 12x, AB 11x, R 4x, Hits EIGHTEEN times, TB 16x, 2B 16x, RBI 17x, 1B 18x, XBH 11x
Barnes broke the R record 10x, BB 3x
O'Rourke broke the R record 12x, BB 5x, XBH 6x
Connor broke the 3B record 10x, HR 3x, BB 6x
Henderson broke the SB record 13x

I'd say Anson might be the man here

[Edgartohof]

Cap Anson improved upon the all-time hits record 18 consecutive years, from 1880-1897.

[torez77]

This isn't a hitting or pitching record as Appling specified, but I think Ripken's streak has to be mentioned here - he broke his own record 501 times.

[Sultan_1895-1948]

I have read that Babe Ruth liked nothing better than breaking his own MLB record, in any department. Especially famous of course was his record for homeruns in a single season: 29 in 1919, followed by 50 in 1920, 59 in 1921, and finally 60 in 1927.

But even more amazing is his MLB record for most career homeruns. Ruth was able to set a new standard for career homeruns rather early, when he finished the 1921 season with 162 "lifetime" homeruns. Every season he continued to play Ruth would set a new record for career homeruns -- a total of 15 times, until he retired with an amazing 714 homeruns.

Eventually of course this record was broken by Hank Aaron. At the end of the 1974 season Hank had set a new MLB record with 733 career homeruns -- which he then advanced to 745 in 1975 and finally 755 when he retired in 1976. So Hank set a new record for career homeruns a total of 3 times -- compared with 15 times for Ruth.

Can you find any other hitting (or pitching) record in which the record holder broke his own record eight or more times?

In '21 he became the all time home run king with his 137th career homer, or number 34 of that year. He finished with 54 that year.

So if you're gonna look at it this way, the official number should be 577 times compared to Hank's 41.

[Appling]

I realize that a new record is set with each game (or each homerun, etc.) but I look at the rankings at the end of each season. Ruth set his single-season record in 1919, then set a new record in 1920, yet another in 1921, and his final MLB record in 1927. By my method of counting, he set a new record four times. (He ended the season with a new single-season record four times.)

For Career homeruns, at the end of the 1920 season, Roger Connor still held the record with 138 homeruns. Ruth was in 9th place with 103. Ruth first broke the Connor record early in 1921, but by my count he set the new record at the end of 1921 with 162 career homeruns. Each year he continued to play, Ruth had at least one homerun, so he set a new MLB record each year he played. Each season he "raised the bar" a littlle higher. By my count Ruth ended 15 successive seasons with a new MLB record for career homeruns.

The Ripken consecutive game record belongs here too, but again I want to count just the number of seasons in which he advanced the MLB record to a new level. As I recall, Gehrig still held the CG record with 2130 at the end of the 1994 season. Ripken ended the 1995 season with 2155 consecutive games, setting a new record. He then continued to advance his record in 1996, 1997 and 1998.

[Barnstormer]

Each season he "raised the bar" a littlle higher. By my count Ruth ended 15 successive seasons with a new MLB record for career homeruns.

And although he never held the single-season record for strikeouts (never even struck out 100 times), he ended 10 successive seasons with the MLB career strikeout record after setting it in 1926.

[Appling]

Well, if you take it literally, then yes, it was broken several hundred times, but he is obviously looking more at the season as a whole for that record...

It's kind of like how record books aren't written until after the season is over, they don't write one for each HR (generally speaking).

Thank you. You said very clearly what I was trying to say.

When Ruth hit 50 homeruns in 1920 he exceeded the old mark (his own) by 21 homeruns, but I consider it that he set a new MLB record for "homeruns in a season" for the second time, not 21 times.
[Edit/ correction: Ruth hit 54 homeruns in 1920, not 50; so he exceeded his own former record by 25, not 21]

I think we can look at records for career totals in much the same way. For most players, it is late in their careers when they first set a new MLB record for some career total. IMO, how long they continue to play after setting a new "lifetime record" (further extending the record each year they play) is one measure of true greatness.

[Mike D.]

Nolan Ryan broke the all time strikeout record in 1984, and held it every year until he retired in 1993, a total of 10 seasons.

Walter Johnson held the record from 1921 until he retired in 1927, seven seasons. In between, Steve Carlton held it for one year.

A great place to look at this kind of stuff is baseball-reference.com's leader boards (http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/). They have a "progressive" record for each category.

[Appling]

The old MLB record for career stolen bases was held by Lou Brock (938 SB) thru the 1990 season. Rickey Henderson was close behind by that time, taking the career #2 spot with 936 stolen bases. Rickey set the new "lifetime" record early in 1991, and then proceeded to break his old record another 12 times -- until he retired in 2003 with 1406 stolen bases.

[Appling]

Eddie Plank passed Jesse Tannehill in 1910, to become the winningest LHP of all time. (His 202 wins thru 1910 finally passed Tannehill's old record of 197 wins.)

Plank then went on setting a new wins record for southpaws each year, for his last 8 seasons (1910-1917), finishing his career with 326 wins.

That record held until 1962, when Plank was finally passed by LHP Warren Spahn. Spahn set a new career record for wins by a LHP just three more times, retiring after the 1965 season with 363 career wins. This is still the record for career wins by a left-hander.

[Appling]

Jimmie Foxx

In 1935 Jimmie Foxx hit his 302nd career homerun, passing Rogers Hornsby (300) to then become the leading RH homerun hitter of all time. Foxx went on to break his own record in 1936, 37, 38, 39,40, 41 and 42. Foxx had retired after 1942, but returned in 1944 -- hitting no homeruns that year in 20 AB. He then set a new record for RH career homeruns for the 9th time when he hit 7 (in 224 AB) in 1945, retiring with the record of 534 homeruns as a RH hitter.

I'm not sure; was Foxx in Military Service for the 1943 and (most of) 1944 seasons?

Of course, players like Killebrew, Schmidt, Mays and Aaron came along later and passed XX. I believe Foxx is now # 7 on the list of career homeruns by a RH hitter.