As the old adage goes, the best ability is availability.

Lou Gehrig exemplified that sentiment for many years, playing in 2,130 consecutive games before his career was tragically cut short by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Cal Ripken Jr. later followed in Gehrig's footsteps, eclipsing Gehrig while playing in 2,632 consecutive games, which stands as the all-time record.

Although not to the same extent as Gehrig or Ripken, other players throughout baseball history have made durability a hallmark as well. Which begs the question, what is the longest consecutive games played streak for each Major League franchise? With the help of all 30 MLB.com beat writers, here is each club's all-time leader in that department.

AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST

Blue Jays: Carlos Delgado -- 432 games, April 3, 2000 to Aug. 4, 2002

Delgado’s streak came at the height of his dominance in Toronto, including arguably his best season in 2000, when he posted a 1.134 OPS with 41 home runs. Delgado trails only Tony Fernandez on the Blue Jays’ all-time games played list with 1,423. Over 12 seasons with the Blue Jays, Delgado, one of his era’s more underrated sluggers, launched 336 home runs. -- Keegan Matheson

Orioles: Cal Ripken Jr. -- 2,632 games, May 30, 1982 to Sept. 19, 1998

This one, everyone knows. Baltimore’s Iron Man is baseball’s Iron Man: Cal Ripken Jr. The Hall of Fame shortstop, 19-time All-Star and two-time MVP did not miss a game for more than 16 years, a streak that spanned nine Orioles managers and three U.S. presidencies. He broke Lou Gehrig’s unbreakable record on Sept. 6, 1995, playing in his 2,131st consecutive game -- then added 501 on top of that for good measure.

The Orioles can actually claim two of the five longest consecutive games streaks in MLB history. Without Ripken on this list, the O’s nod would go to Miguel Tejada, whose 1,152 game streak from June 2, 2000 to June 21, 2007 ranks fifth in baseball history. The last four seasons of that came in Baltimore. -- Joe Trezza

Rays: Aubrey Huff -- 398 games, May 28, 2002 to Aug. 21, 2004

With the way the Rays have grown accustomed to flipping the roster and utilizing matchups with platoons, it’s no surprise that Huff’s impressive streak of 398 has lasted well over a decade. Huff helped the Rays at first and third base during his streak. Huff’s streak came to an end with a minor back injury that forced him to miss four games. -- Juan Toribio

Red Sox: Everett Scott -- 832 games, June 20, 1916 to Oct. 2, 1921

Scott’s streak started when the Red Sox were a perennial powerhouse. By the time it ended, Scott was still going to the post every day as Boston tried to carry on without Babe Ruth. Speaking of Ruth, Scott’s streak actually continued following his trade to the Yankees and reached 1,307 games before ending in May 6, 1925. -- Ian Browne

Yankees: Lou Gehrig -- 2,130 games, June 1, 1925 to May 2, 1939

Thought to be unbreakable at the time, Gehrig’s remarkable record stood for 56 years until Ripken eclipsed “The Iron Horse.” Gehrig’s streak began with an eighth-inning pinch-hit appearance against the Senators. The next day, manager Miller Huggins wrote Gehrig's name at first base in place of an ailing Wally Pipp; according to the most popular version of the story, Pipp asked out of the lineup due to a headache. Gehrig remained a mainstay in the Bombers’ lineup until '39, forging his path toward the Hall of Fame. His skills deteriorating due to the onset of ALS, Gehrig informed manager Joe McCarthy of his desire to end the streak, symbolically carrying the lineup card to home plate. Two months later, Gehrig delivered his famous "Luckiest Man" speech before a crowd of 61,808 at Yankee Stadium. -- Bryan Hoch

• Cal Ripken Jr. interactive career timeline

AL CENTRAL

Guardians: Joe Sewell -- 1,103 games, Sept. 13, 1922 to April 30, 1930

Only two players in Cleveland history have played more than 500 consecutive games -- Sewell and Earl Averill, who played in 673 straight contests. But Sewell’s 1,103 games have held as the longest streak for 90 years and was the second longest in MLB at the time. The stretch began with a pinch-hit appearance against the Senators on Sept. 13, 1922, and the shortstop played the next seven consecutive seasons before it ended at the start of 1930. During his streak, the man known to use just one bat throughout his entire career (named “Black Betsy”) hit .325 (1,339-for-4,119) with 292 doubles, 38 triples, 24 homers and just 56 strikeouts. -- Mandy Bell

Royals: Alcides Escobar -- 421 games, Sept. 26, 2015 to July 7, 2018

The streak started the day after most of the Royals regulars sat following the team clinching the AL Central title in 2015. It ended as Escobar’s career was winding down with the Royals, and heir apparent Adalberto Mondesi started in his place. “I’m proud of that streak,” Escobar said. “It’s not easy to do.” -- Jeffrey Flanagan

Tigers: Charlie Gehringer -- 511 games, Sept. 3, 1927 to May 7, 1931

Gehringer picked up the nickname “The Mechanical Man,” which he reportedly said came from former Yankees pitcher and fellow Hall of Famer Lefty Gomez. “You wind him up in the spring, turn him loose, he hits .330 or .340 and you shut him off at the end of the season,” Gomez reportedly once said. Gehringer played every inning of every game in 1928, lifted only for a pinch-runner in the ninth inning on Opening Day. After injuries ended his streak in 1931, he started another streak the next year that lasted 504 games until 1935. -- Jason Beck

Twins/Senators: Eddie Yost -- 829 games, Aug. 10, 1949 to May 11, 1955

Not only was Yost doing a lot of standing at the plate during this streak, the ninth longest in MLB history, but he was also doing a ton of walking, too. He led the AL in walks in three of the seven seasons encompassed by this span and was nicknamed “The Walking Man” for his on-base prowess. Narrowing things down to just the Twins era yields a 319-game streak spanning the 2007-09 seasons by Justin Morneau. -- Do-Hyoung Park

White Sox: Nellie Fox -- 798 games, Aug. 7, 1955 to Sept. 3, 1960

Fox won the AL MVP Award in 1959, when the White Sox reached the World Series, and the second baseman was a 12-time All-Star with the South Siders. But he also was extremely durable, leading the league in games played in five different seasons. He has a wide edge in this category over the next White Sox challenger, with Eddie Collins second at 475. Albert Belle had the most recent run, playing in 324 straight games from April 1, 1997 to Sept. 27, 1998. -- Scott Merkin

AL WEST

Angels: Sandy Alomar Sr. -- 648 games, May 16, 1969 to May 20, 1973

Alomar Sr. played every game for the exact equivalent of four straight seasons after being acquired by the Angels in a trade with the White Sox in 1969 that sent second baseman Bobby Knoop to Chicago. Alomar Sr., the father to former catcher Sandy Alomar Jr. and Hall of Fame second baseman Roberto Alomar, was a slick defender at second base for the Angels. He played a full 162 games in both 1970 and 1971 and was an All-Star in '70. He earned the nickname the “Iron Pony" for his streak. -- Rhett Bollinger

Astros: Craig Biggio -- 494 games, Aug. 1, 1995 to Aug. 4, 1998

It figures that Biggio, who played his entire 20-year Hall of Fame career for Houston and was on the injured list only once, would hold the club’s record for consecutive games played. The streak came to a reluctant end when manager Larry Dierker didn’t start Biggio on Aug. 5, 1998, in Miami. Dierker wanted to use Biggio as a pinch-hitter with a chance to tie the game. But with the Astros trailing, 5-3, they went down in order in the eighth and ninth. “I could not have imagined a scenario where we would lose and I would not find a way to use him to help us try to come back," Dierker said. Biggio, who played in 162 games three times in his career (1992 and 1996-97), said: "I'm not going to say I'm not a little upset about it. But I really would have rather won the ballgame. I'll just have to start another one." -- Brian McTaggart

Athletics: Bert Campaneris -- 1,795 games, July 23, 1964 to July 15, 1976

A five-time All-Star with the A’s, Campaneris was the AL hits leader (177) in 1968, and led the league in stolen bases six times. A member of the club during its stint in Kansas City, he made history in ‘65 by becoming the first player to play all nine positions in one game, against the Angels, starting at shortstop and finishing the contest behind the plate as the catcher. This feat has only been accomplished four times since. Campaneris remains the A’s all-time leader in games played (1,795) and hits and also ranks second in stolen bases (566) behind Rickey Henderson. -- Martin Gallegos

Mariners: Ichiro Suzuki -- 396 games, July 11, 2004 to Sept. 25, 2006

The durable Ichiro sat out just 32 games in 11 1/2 seasons in his initial stint with Seattle. His longest streak began midway through the 2004 campaign, in which he hit .372 and set an MLB record with 262 hits in 161 games while breaking George Sisler’s mark of 257 set in 1920. Ichiro played every game the following season at age 31, then played every game until the final week of ‘06 when he got hit with a pitch in the shoulder and had to sit out the 158th game of the year against the A’s. His 396-game streak is well ahead of the second-longest Mariners string of 293, set by Edgar Martinez from 1994-96. -- Greg Johns

Rangers: Mark Teixeira -- 507 games, May 21, 2004 to June 8, 2007

Rangers fans weren’t talking about Teixeira’s streak as the 2007 season progressed. The Rangers fell out of contention early, and by June, it was obvious they were looking to trade Teixeira. He couldn’t be a free agent until after the 2008 season, but it was clear he wasn’t going to be signing any long-term contracts. The rumors abated only temporarily when Teixeira suffered a strained left quadriceps muscle to end the streak and missed just over a month. When he was activated on July 13, the rumors picked up again. Finally, on July 31, Teixeira and pitcher Ron Mahay were traded to the Braves for catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Minor League pitchers Neftalí Feliz, Matt Harrison and Beau Jones, and shortstop Elvis Andrus. It remains one of the most significant trades in Rangers history. -- T.R. Sullivan

NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST

Braves: Dale Murphy -- 740 games, Sept. 26, 1981 to July 8, 1986

Murphy won back-to-back NL MVP Awards (1982 and ‘83) and four of his five straight Gold Glove Awards within this streak. His 161 homers within this span ranked second in the Majors only to Mike Schmidt’s 164. Murphy’s streak is the 13th longest in MLB history. Cal Ripken Jr. and Miguel Tejada are the only players to produce a longer streak since the completion of Murphy’s. -- Mark Bowman

Marlins: Juan Pierre -- 486 games, March 31, 2003 to Oct. 2, 2005

Not only was Pierre the catalyst on the Marlins’ 2003 World Series championship team, the speedy center fielder also was a fixture in the lineup in three straight seasons before being traded to the Cubs after the 2005 campaign. In '03, his first year with the organization, Pierre played every inning of every game. Even after the Marlins clinched the NL Wild Card with three games to go, Pierre wanted no part of a day off. Manager Jack McKeon initially had him out of the starting lineup on the second-to-last game, to give him a breather. Pierre went into McKeon’s office and said, “I signed up for 162.” -- Joe Frisaro

Mets: Pete Alonso -- 242 games and counting, June 18, 2023 to present

Before Francisco Lindor surpassed him, José Reyes held the Mets’ record with 200 consecutive games played from 2005-06 -- the shortest streak of any MLB franchise. Lindor's 223-game streak came to an end on Aug. 24, 2024, and Alonso quietly passed him for the longest streak of consecutive games in Mets history when he played his 224th consecutive game less than a week later, on Aug. 30. -- Anthony DiComo

Nationals/Expos: Vladimir Guerrero -- 276, April 21, 1998 to Aug. 30, 1999

Looking at the franchise’s history, Hall of Famer Guerrero was a mainstay on the field for the Expos in his first two full Major League seasons. When the franchise relocated to Washington, the Nationals' inaugural Draft pick, Ryan Zimmerman, set a mark of 205 consecutive games played from Sept. 19, 2006 to May 3, 2008. -- Jessica Camerato

Phillies: Richie Ashburn -- 730 games, June 7, 1950 to Sept. 26, 1954

Ashburn batted .316 with 918 hits during his consecutive games streak. Only Stan Musial (.338), Ted Williams (.333) and Jackie Robinson (.322) had a higher batting average in that stretch. Only Musial (929) had more hits.

NL CENTRAL

Brewers: Prince Fielder -- 327 games, Sept. 4, 2008 to Sept. 12, 2010

Fielder was as steady as they get during 10 seasons in the Brewers' system before departing for a $214 million deal with Detroit. In a five-season span from 2009-13 that spilled into his time with the Tigers, Fielder missed one game. It was Sept. 13, 2010, with the Brewers in Houston, when he was hospitalized with a severe stomach flu that required two bags of IV fluids. Still, Fielder tried to play. “I hate watching baseball. I’m going to be honest,” Fielder said last year. “I don’t want to watch it, I want to play. That was my main reason for playing every day.” -- Adam McCalvy

Cardinals: Stan Musial -- 895 games, April 15, 1952 to Aug. 22, 1957

An NL record at the time it was set, Musial’s streak spanned six straight All-Star Games and six straight top-10 MVP finishes, and he won batting titles at the bookends of the streak in ‘52 and ‘57. He also played the majority of 16 doubleheaders in 1957, the last year of his streak. The Hall of Famer and the greatest Cardinal to ever play, Musial hit .328 during his streak, second only to Ted Williams over that time period, and he had 444 extra-base hits, second only to Duke Snider. He led the Majors in doubles in 1953 (53) and in ‘54 (41). In 1956, he led the NL with 109 RBIs. -- Anne Rogers

Cubs: Billy Williams -- 1,117 games, Sept. 22, 1963 to Sept. 2, 1970

Williams’ seven-year streak established the NL record at the time and remains second to Steve Garvey’s run of 1,207 games in the Senior Circuit. Over his streak, Sweet Swinging’ Billy collected 213 homers, 721 RBIs and 1,308 hits. He finally asked for a day off in 1970, when he was the NL’s runner-up for MVP. In 161 games that year, Williams hit .322 with 42 homers and 129 RBIs, while leading MLB in runs (137), hits (205) and total bases (373). -- Jordan Bastian

Pirates: Gus Suhr -- 822 games, Sept. 11, 1931 to June 4, 1937

Suhr, a first baseman, held the NL record for most consecutive games played until it was broken by Stan Musial in 1957. Suhr’s streak ended when he attended his mother’s funeral. He spent 10 years with the Pirates, batting .278 with 79 homers, 112 triples and 789 RBIs, then finished his career in Philadelphia. He was named an All-Star in 1936, the final full season of his streak, when he slashed .312/.410/.467 with 118 RBIs. -- Adam Berry

Reds: Pete Rose -- 678 games, Sept. 28, 1973 to May 7, 1978

Rose’s resume is loaded with marks of his durability, including being the all-time leader with 4,256 hits over his 24-year career. During his streak, the Big Red Machine had back-to-back World Series championship seasons in 1975 and '76. Later in the ‘78 season, he enjoyed a hitting streak of 44 games that made him the closest to breaking a vaunted record of 56 held by Joe DiMaggio from 1941. Also the holder of MLB’s most games played at 3,562, Rose would begin a longer games-played streak of 745 from Sept. 1, 1978 to Aug. 23, 1983, but almost all of that time was spent with the Phillies. -- Mark Sheldon

NL WEST

D-backs: Luis Gonzalez -- 446 games, Oct. 1, 1999 to Aug. 13, 2002

Gonzalez hated taking days off. “I was always afraid I was going to be Wally Pipp’ed,” he said, referring to the Yankees' first baseman who sat out a game that opened the door for Lou Gehrig to start his consecutive game streak. Gonzalez played every game in the 2000 season and again in '01, when he hit 57 homers and helped lead the D-backs to the a World Series title. He made it 119 games into the '02 season before a rib cage injury finally ended his streak. Gonzalez initially tried to play through the injury, but in the third inning of the D-backs game against the Reds on Aug. 13, he removed himself from the game and did not play the following day. -- Steve Gilbert

Dodgers: Steve Garvey -- 1,107 games, Sept. 3, 1975 to Oct. 3, 1982

Garvey still holds the NL record at 1,207 consecutive games, the last 100 with San Diego until he broke his thumb in a home-plate collision. But the bulk came as a fixture in the record-breaking infield and a fan favorite at Dodger Stadium. -- Ken Gurnick

Giants: Bill Terry -- 468 games, April 15, 1930 to April 24, 1933

Terry led the New York Giants to the 1933 World Series title while serving as a player-manager. The Hall of Fame first baseman was the club's top hitter with a .322 average that year, but he missed a month due to injury at the beginning of the season, which ended his record streak of consecutive games played for the Giants. -- Maria Guardado

Padres: Adrián González -- 314 games, Aug. 15, 2007 to Aug. 3, 2009

Steve Garvey ended his NL-record 1,207-game streak in San Diego in 1983, but only 100 of those games came after he signed with the Padres. A year later, he began another streak of 305 games. But the franchise’s all-time mark belongs to González, the only player in franchise history to reach the 160-game mark in four separate seasons. González’s streak began in mid-August 2007, with the Padres in the thick of one of the most thrilling races in the division’s history. It came to an end two years later. -- AJ Cassavell

Rockies: Vinny Castilla -- 307 games, June 26, 1997 to June 14, 1999

One of the underappreciated but real effects of playing at mile-high altitude is the toll it takes on the body. So Castilla’s run, which also included a club-record 222 straight starts, carries particular weight to those versed in Rockies lore. The production was unmistakable. He was an All-Star in 1998, when he played in all 162 games. Over the full 307 games, he slashed .309/.356/.557, with 79 home runs and 235 RBIs. -- Thomas Harding