Batter Strikeouts: More Disturbing Now Than Later
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by user Ross K.
When I read that another pitcher is heading towards 3000 strikeouts, I got curious as to who leads MLB in career strikeouts from the batters box and if it was anywhere close to 3000. Only one batter is within 500 of the 3000 mark and it's none other than Mr. October, Reggie Jackson. After that the numbers drop down dramatically to the 2000 mark.
Take a look at the list and then I'll add some thoughts at the bottom.
1. Reggie Jackson 2597
2. Sammy Sosa 2194
3. Andres Galarraga 2003
4. Jose Canseco 1942
5. Willie Stargell 1936
6. Mike Schmidt 1883
7. Fred McGriff 1882
8. Tony Perez 1867
9. Dave Kingman 1816
10. Jim Thome 1762
11. Bobby Bonds 1757
12. Dale Murphy 1748
13. Lou Brock 1730
14. Mickey Mantle 1710
15. Harmon Killebrew 1699
16. Chili Davis 1698
17. Dwight Evans 1697
18. Rickey Henderson 1694
19. Dave Winfield 1686
20. Gary Gaetti 1602
Source: Baseball Reference
Younger players like Adam Dunn, Ryan Howard and Richie Sexson (well, when he was younger) take a lot of critcism for how much they strike out, but apparently in the long run you can be considered a great hitter and still strike out a lot, because there are quite a few names on that list that would also be considered in a list of the top 20 hitters of all time.
The Top 30 active players in career strikeouts include not only Thome but Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr., Jim Edmonds, Carlos Delgado, Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez and Bernie Williams. Granted, a lot of these guys - with the exceptions of A-Rod - are getting old and have had long careers, but the majority of these guys are known as the best hitters of their time, when at the same time they're racking up K after K. If Jeff Bagwell would have played this season and struck out 54 times, which is highly likely, he would have broken into the top 20 all-time.
What I find interesting - and my motivation for the articles title - is that a lot of time when a player strikes out in a game, it's considered a terrible thing. If a player has two or three strikeouts in a game, they're considered to have had an awful day. However according to this list, strikeouts on the part of a batter - is the easiest stat to forget and/or forgive over time.
Reggie Jackson is known for a handful of key hits in the playoffs. How many know he's the reigning strikeout king by 403? I know I didn't. Maybe Mr. October has a second meaning, when Jackson hit there was a good chance you'll feel a cool breeze from a swing and a miss.
In case you're wondering, Jackson had 9864 career at-bats, number 27 on the all-time list. That's a strikeout once in a little more than every four at bats (26%). Dunn and Howard are both currently at 32%, Sexson at 27%. A-Rod, the youngest player in the Top 30 is only at 21%.
When it comes down to it, how many strikeouts a batter ends his career with can really depend on the number of ABs he has in his career and the odds of striking out in those ABs. But when the career is over, chances are not many people are going to be looking at strikeouts anyway.
I guess what I'm trying to get at is don't waste your time criticizing young guys for Ks now because nobody's going to care later. Pay attention to the other numbers they are putting up because those are the ones that in the long run at least, really matter.
Date
Fri 08/04/06, 7:00 am EST
I'd be interested in looking at single season records and see what kinds of players show up there. Players like the immortal [Rob Deer], for example.
And you did the strikeout percentages. I'd like to see what the career leaders in strikeout PERCENTAGE would be and see if that correlates with how good of a hitter that player is.