By Jacob Luft
SportsLine Staff Writer

Baseball has incomplete feel to it

When baseball fans talk about records that will never be broken, they seldom bring these up:

• Cincinnati's Will White, 74 complete games in 1879 (NL record).
• New York's Jack Chesbro, 48 complete games in 1904 (AL record).

Sure, pitchers haven't been finishing what they start for a while now, but this year the dearth of complete games is particularly acute.

Through Tuesday night's games, both leagues were well on track to breaking the records for fewest complete games in a season.

Unlike most pitchers nowadays, Curt Schilling finishes what he starts.(AP)

The American League, with a measly 31 complete games, is on pace for about 72 for the entire season. That's 51 less than the record of 123, set in 1997.

The National League likes to think of itself as more of a pitcher's league, but NL fans shouldn't brag too much. The senior circuit has 51 so far, which projects to 118 for the season. The record is 127 in 1996.

The situation would be worse if not for two factors: 1. Curt Schilling (six CG's); 2. Baltimore pitchers (7 CG's).

It almost makes one long for the old days. In 1904, the same year Chesbro set the AL mark, both leagues established records for complete games that still stand today: 1,100 for the NL; 1,089 for the AL.

It's fair to say they didn't have too many "specialist lefty relievers" back then.

Streaky hitters

It's been a banner year for hitting streaks in the NL.

New York's Mike Piazza tied a Mets record by hitting safely in his 24th straight on Tuesday night. During the streak, he's batting .353 (36-for-102).

Six more games and Piazza will tie Luis Gonzalez for the longest streak of the season at 30. From early April through mid-May, Gonzalez hit .400 (46-for-115) with seven homers and 24 RBI.

Overall, Larry Walker had the most impressive stretch, torching NL pitching at a .506 clip (41-81) for 20 games. Ten of those 41 hits were home runs.

Jose Can-Strikeout

Jose Canseco will go down as one of the great home run hitters of his era. As the first 40-40 player ever, his place in history is secure.

People come to the ballpark to see him hit the ball a mile, and that's why he doesn't mind striking out so much. It's a fair tradeoff, especially for the power-starved Devil Rays.

Still, his penchant for whiffing is approaching historic proportions.

He started the season 13th on the all-time list. Thanks to 71 K's this season, he has moseyed his way to 10th, passing Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew with three whiffs on Sunday against the Twins.

His career total stands at 1,701, only nine behind the No. 9 whiff king, Mickey Mantle.

Canseco can make some serious headway this season. Assuming he strikes out another 80 times, he will also pass Lou Brock, Dale Murphy and Bobby Bonds to become No. 6 on the all-time list.

At this rate, Canseco will easily make it all the way up to No. 2, where he'll be stuck for a while, if not forever, behind Reggie Jackson (2,597).

Even more numbers

0 -- Earned runs allowed by new Boston closer Tim Wakefield in eight relief appearances this season. The knuckleballer is six-for-six in save opportunities, giving up only three hits and three walks in 8 1/3 innings.

5.73 -- Wakefield's ERA in 11 starts this season.

21 -- The number of runs the Braves have scored in support of Greg Maddux in his last six starts, including a 2-1 loss to the Expos on Tuesday night.

376 -- Appearances by Trevor Hoffman in a Padres uniform, breaking the club record held by Craig Lefferts (1984-87, 1990-92).

514 -- Yankees-related caps, jerseys and other such paraphernalia turned in Tuesday night at Tropicana Field in exchange for Devil Rays gear. With the Yankees in town, the Rays held a "Yankee Conversion Night."

Fans were encouraged to exchange their caps and other Yankees apparel for Devil Rays stuff. That number doesn't include one New York Knicks cap. The items will be donated to a New York City Boys and Girls Club.