The Record No One Wants
With just a handful of games left in the 2008 season we have a race for an all-time record. Ok, it’s not a record anyone wants to hold but Mark Reynolds, Ryan Howard and Jack Cust are fighting it out to see who can hold the all-time single season strikeout record.
Prior to the 2008 season 190+ strikeouts by a batter has only been reached three times. Adam Dunn whiffed 194 times in 2004 and 195 times in 2006. The champ is Ryan Howard with 199 in 2007.
Heading into the final four or five games we have a three way battle for immortality.
In third place is Jack Cust with 191 strikeouts. With four games to go he’ll have his work cut out for him. To his credit, Cust also leads the American League with 107 walks.
In second place is the reigning champion Ryan Howard. With 195 K’s and four games to go Ryan has an outside chance. On the plus side Howard leads the majors with 46 HR and 141 RBI.
In the lead and with five games left to go is the Diamondbacks young third baseman Mark Reynolds. The extra game and his league leading 198 strikeouts make Mark the clear front runner. Reynolds has put up 28 HR and 11 steals but he only has 61 walks to offset the mammoth strikeout total.