In baseball, a strikeout is reached once strike three is called. It means that the batter is out. Strikeouts are recorded as statistics for both batters and pitchers and are denoted with a “K.”
Although the consensus is that a strikeout suggests a pitcher dominates, the inverse conclusion is that batters are more susceptible to the free-swinging style pursuit of home runs. Some of the greatest hitters of home runs – Reggie Jackson, Alex Rodriguez and Jim Thome all have not-so-favourable strikeout stats.
Here are two strikeout records of note:
- Most career strikeouts:
Nolan Ryan holds the record for the most strikeouts in a career in MLB. He played an incredible 27 years and struck out more than 5,714 batters and still holds the record that stands today as well. Ryan was known for being well-studied in the way he would choose the right moments to strike out batters.
- Most strikeouts in a game:
One of Jake Peavy’s biggest nights was during a 16-strikeout outing where he tied his own record. He struck out the Arizona side in the second, third as well as fourth innings and only relented when Eric Byrnes began the fifth. He won the NL’s pitching Triple Crown and paced the league in the total number of wins, strikeouts and ERAs too.
Who do you think will break these records in today’s modern game? Will Nolan Ryan’s record ever be broken?