What is the lineage of the two-hit complete game, the multi-homer game, and the MLB home run and strikeout legends?
In Major League Baseball, batters are judged by home runs and pitchers by strikeouts. Their salaries are also proportional to their home runs and strikeouts. Clayton Kershaw, 35, of the Los Angeles Dodgers, is still considered a great pitcher even though his velocity isn’t what it used to be, because he strikes out more batters than he walks.
The ability to get strikeouts and power is essential for a team. If a player can hit double-digit home runs even if his batting average drops into the teens, he’s still valuable. Joey Gallo (Minnesota Twins) may be batting just .211, but his 11 home runs make him more valuable to his team than anyone else. 메이저사이트
Los Angeles Angels second baseman Shohei Ohtani is always at the center of the conversation, as his home runs and strikeouts keep fans enthralled. On April 22 against the Minnesota Twins, Ohtani allowed one run on two hits and three walks over six innings. His nine strikeouts were just shy of double-digit strikeouts. Offensively, he went 1-for-3.
In 10 appearances this year, Ohtani has struck out 80 batters in 59 innings with three double-digit strikeout games. Last year, he reached double figures 10 times in 28 games, including six straight. At the plate, he has hit multiple home runs in a single game 12 times in 612 career plate appearances.
When it comes to double-digit strikeouts by a pitcher, Nolan Ryan is the icon of hardball. He struck out 2547 batters in double digits in 215 games. A hard-throwing pitcher until the age of 46, Ryan totaled 5714 strikeouts and 2,795 walks in 807 games, both MLB records. His 6.6 strikeouts per nine innings is also an MLB record.
Ryan is followed by left-hander Randy Johnson. He has double-digit strikeouts in 212 games. He actually has more strikeouts than Ryan (2,554).
Among active players with double-digit strikeouts in more than 100 games, Max Scherzer (New York Mets) and Roger Clemens are tied with 110, and Pedro Martinez (Alien) has 108. Sandy Koufax, the golden lefty who ended his 12-year career in the short and bold, is sixth on the list with 97 games. Koufax set a single-season record of 382 strikeouts in 1965. That record was surpassed by Ryan in 1973 by one, with 383. However, Ryan’s record is for all of MLB and Koufax’s is for lefties. It’s one of those records that can’t be broken.
Los Angeles Dodgers Clayton Kershaw, who is almost certain to be a Hall of Famer when he retires, has recorded double-digit strikeouts in 68 games. Among active players, Chris Sale (Boston Red Sox) has 80, Justin Verlander (New York Mets) 72, Gerrit Cole (New York Yankees) 58, Darvish Yu (San Diego Padres) 50, and Corey Kluber (Boston Red Sox) 48.