Ripken's record safe, but these stars would fill an Iron Man Team

The new rules put in place for the 2023 season appear to have exerted a positive effect on player health, but even so, it is not easy to push through a 162-game grind -- much less to do so year after year.

The season is long. Players deal with inclement weather, a demanding travel schedule, various injuries and illnesses, and the constant threat of a slump that could send them to the bench. Off-days are few and far between.

So even though durability isn’t a tool that stands out in the same way that power, speed or arm strength do, don’t be fooled. It’s a skill, even if luck also can play a role in who avoids or succumbs to injuries. It’s an underrated skill at that. The more games a star or even a solid regular can play, the less his team must turn to a bench player, Minor Leaguer or waiver wire option.

While no active MLB player is going to threaten Cal Ripken Jr.’s streak -- which reached a record 2,131 consecutive games 28 years ago Wednesday -- let’s tip our caps to baseball’s current paragons of durability. Not surprisingly, these are also some of the top players in the sport over the past several years, given that another key to staying in the lineup is providing consistently stellar production.

Here is our All-Iron Man lineup. (All stats are through Monday's games.)

C: J.T. Realmuto, Phillies
Key stat: Most games caught since 2015 (1,020)

It’s not just that Realmuto leads the above category -- it’s by how much. He’s nearly 140 games ahead of the now-retired Yadier Molina and 37-year-old Martín Maldonado, who are tied for second. Catcher, of course, is the most grueling, physically challenging position on the field. Yet Realmuto has gutted his way through at least 110 games behind the plate in each of his eight full seasons (excluding 2020), and he still ranks as MLB’s fastest catcher by average sprint speed.

1B: Paul Goldschmidt, Cardinals
Key stat: Most games played since 2015 (1,291)

Barring a late injury, 2023 will be Goldschmidt’s MLB-best eighth straight season playing at least 151 games (not counting 2020, when he played in all 58 games for St. Louis). The seven-time All-Star arrived in the Majors in August 2011 and has gone on the injured list just once since then, due to a hand fracture he sustained on a hit-by-pitch in 2014. One could also make a strong argument here for Freddie Freeman, who has missed a grand total of nine team games since 2018, including none this year.

2B: Marcus Semien, Rangers
Key stat: 11 games missed in past 6 seasons

Seven of those missed games came in 2020, when Semien sat out for a while with a side injury but avoided the injured list, where he has not spent any time since 2017. Semien finished with at least a share of the MLB lead in games played in 2019 with the A’s (162), ‘21 with the Blue Jays (162) and ‘22 with the Rangers (161). He’s played in every one of Texas’ games again this season and is on track to lead MLB in plate appearances for the fourth time in five years.

3B: Nolan Arenado, Cardinals
Key stat: 3rd in games since 2015 (1,270)

Manny Machado ranks second in games over that span (1,279) and also would be a worthy pick, but Arenado nabs this spot by a narrow margin. A left middle finger fracture sustained on a headfirst slide cost him about six weeks of playing time way back in 2014, and he has rarely been sidelined since. Arenado’s only other stint on the injured list came late in the 2020 Covid season. In every other year from 2015-21, the eight-time All-Star played at least 155 games. After logging 148 a year ago, Arenado has missed just seven contests so far in 2023.

SS: Francisco Lindor, Mets
Key stat: Has played all 1,179 defensive games at SS

Going back to Lindor’s first full season in 2016, he ranks seventh in total games played (1,099) and first in games at short (1,081), with Xander Bogaerts (1,055) his only serious challenger at a demanding position. Plus, he has never spent time at another position on the field (he has started 13 times at DH.) Lindor played 158-plus games for three straight seasons from 2016-18. His debut with the Mets was marred by an oblique strain that sent him to the IL, but since returning on Aug. 24, 2021, he has appeared in all but three games for New York.

OF: Mookie Betts, Dodgers
Key stat: Most games as OF since 2015 (1,128)

Let’s start with this: There is a different iron man standard for outfielders, who rack up a lot of mileage on their legs and put their bodies on the line to catch fly balls. Over the past five seasons, for example, just one of the top 24 in games played spent a majority of his time in the outfield.

In that context, Betts has been quite durable over his career, despite getting banged up from time to time. Going back to his first full season in 2015, he has played by far the most Major League games as an outfielder -- 43 more than Christian Yelich -- despite being versatile enough to slide to the middle infield for a significant chunk of 2023.

OF: Whit Merrifield, Blue Jays
Key stat: Had streak of 553 straight games

Merrifield has played about twice as much second base as outfield in his career, but as noted, outfield options are harder to find. The eight-year veteran has never been placed on the injured list since making his Major League debut in May 2016. And while he probably wouldn’t make this team based only on 2022-23, the streak mentioned above seals up a spot for him. Lasting more than four years from June 25, 2018-July 11, 2022, it was MLB’s longest streak since Miguel Tejada played in 1,152 consecutive games between June 2, 2000, and June 21, 2007.

OF: Juan Soto, Padres
Key stat: Most games as OF since 2018 (736)

It isn’t necessarily fair to compare older players to Soto, who won’t turn 25 until Oct. 25. Surely, the aches and pains will become more of a challenge for the three-time All-Star as he ages. But Soto has been a true everyday player since he debuted for the Nationals in May 2018, missing less than eight team games per season in that span, including zero in 2023. Nick Castellanos is the only one within 60 outfield games of Soto since '18.

DH: Carlos Santana, Brewers
Key stat: Most games played since 2011 (1,862)

Now 37, Santana isn’t quite an everyday player anymore. Over a nine-season span from 2013-21, however, he never missed more than 10 of his team’s games. Santana dealt with a few injuries as a catcher early in his career but has stayed remarkably healthy since moving off the position, with a 10-day IL stint for an ankle issue last May being his first trip there in eight years. He now ranks seventh among active players in career games (1,908), and Freeman is the only one within 100 games of him since 2011.

SP: Gerrit Cole, Yankees
Key stat: Most starts since 2017 (201)

Starting pitchers obviously play no more than once every five games or so -- hardly the same as an iron man position player. Within that framework though, Cole has been about as reliable as it gets, although the Phillies’ Aaron Nola and the Blue Jays' José Berríos would be among those to make a full starting rotation. Cole, the No. 1 pick in the 2011 Draft, fought through a few minor injuries early in his career but has made just one, short trip to the IL over the past seven seasons, leading MLB in starts, innings, batters faced and pitches thrown in that span. Excluding 2020, this should be his sixth straight campaign with 30-plus starts.

RP: Kenley Jansen, Red Sox
Key stat: 815 career relief appearances (active leader)

Jansen’s iron man status is all the more impressive considering that he has earned it despite dealing with a heart condition that has required surgery and sidelined him at times. The former Minor League catcher turned closer has achieved longevity and consistent performance at a position that tends to thwart both. Jansen’s 790 appearances since his first full big league season (2011) leads all pitchers in that span, and he is on the cusp of reaching 50 games for the 12th straight time (excluding 2020). Since 2016, however, it’s actually Héctor Neris of the Astros who is the only reliever with 500-plus appearances in that span.