List of Major League Baseball consecutive games played leaders

The streak is broken if the team completes a game in which the player neither takes a turn at bat nor plays a half-inning in the field.

The record—2,632 consecutive games, a streak compiled over more than 16 years—is held by Cal Ripken Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles, and is considered to be one of the league's unbreakable records.

Previous holders of the National League record include Billy Williams of the Chicago Cubs (1963–1970), Stan Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals (1952–1957), and Gus Suhr of the Pittsburgh Pirates (1931–1937).

Two others are separate streaks compiled by Pete Rose, who was named one of the top 30 players of the 20th century but is banned from the Hall of Fame.

His physical abilities rapidly declining, Gehrig told manager Joe McCarthy to take him out of the lineup on May 2, 1939.

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.

[20][21] According to the Society for American Baseball Research, from June 5, 1982, to September 14, 1987, Cal Ripken Jr. played 8,264 consecutive innings, which is believed to be a record, although not one that is officially kept by MLB.

The second-longest streak known to have occurred is 5,152 consecutive innings by George Pinkney, who mostly played in the American Association during the record-setting stretch, which lasted from 1885 to 1890.

The entire combined streak stretched from August 22, 1993, to May 10, 2006, and was ended by a wrist injury sustained during what was his 519th consecutive game (see above).