Ryan Howard, Strikeout King?

Apparently, Ryan Howard strikes out a lot. While I knew this was generally true, I hadn't realized that Howard is on a record pace until I came across this article.

After not striking out tonight, Ryan Howard has 151 Ks through 127 Phillies games, putting him on pace for 193. The record is held by Adam Dunn, with 195 in 2004.

While Howard does look like he'll challenge the record, he isn't exactly in uncharted territory- here are the 10 guys who have struck out the most through 127 team games.


The fairly unique thing about this record that makes it different from others is the fact that it's bad. People aren't interested in owning it, and they generally take somewhat drastic measures to avoid doing so. Here are a few examples.

Preston Wilson, 2000 (Marlins)

Through 127 games, Wilson was on pace for a very impressive 205 Ks. He couldn't quite keep that up, but did have 187 with one game left. At the time, the record was 189, set by Bobby Bonds in 1970. As the last game meant nothing for the Marlins, who finished 15.5 games behind the Braves, Wilson was benched for game #162, ensuring that he wouldn't break the record.

Jose Hernandez, 2002 (Brewers)

Hernandez is the best example of a guy who would have set the record if his team didn't manipulate the situation. Through 127 games he was on pace for 202 Ks. He kept up this pace, as he had 188 through 151 games, still on pace for 202. Since the Brewers were awful in '02 (they lost 106 games), they had the option of benching him for their last 11 games. They benched him for four games, then actually let him play all three games in a series against the Astros, in which he somehow didn't strike out, and then didn't play him in the season's final two games.

Rob Deer, 1991 (Tigers)

Through 140 games, Deer had 166 Ks, a pace of 192. The Tigers were 5.5 games behind the Blue Jays at that point, and Deer played in only 7 of their last 22, finishing at 175.

Finally, in 2004, Adam Dunn broke the record. Dunn was at 188 with four games to go, and the Reds were 29 games behind the Cardinals. But he didn't care, as he struck out three times in the next game to surpass Bonds' record, finishing at 195, the current mark.

So what's in store for Howard? With their loss Friday, the Phillies fell three games back of the Padres for the NL Wild Card lead. If they're in the race until the end, the Phillies will quite obviously play Howard. But what if he has 192 Ks going into the last weekend of the season, and the Phillies have been eliminated? I would have to guess that Howard would sit the last couple games of the season, as that is what has happened with everybody in that position except Adam Dunn, who really doesn't come across as the kind of guy who is bothered by the fact he strikes out a lot.

Pictures taken from CNNSI (2), and the Reds website. All stats taken from Baseball Reference.

All Hail Johan

"Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson said Santana threw only four sliders, meaning the other 108 pitches were all fastballs and changeups."

-Star Tribune, via Neyer

At about 3pm yesterday I noticed online that Johan Santana had stuck out 7 hitters through three perfect innings. Rarely is it this obvious that one has a chance to witness something special, so I tuned in.

Over the next five innings, Santana continued at this pace, finishing with 17 K's through 8 (video). Although I found myself yelling at the TV as Gardenhire decided to bring Joe Nathan in for the 9th, I understood his decision, as Santana had thrown 112 pitches. For good reason, the Twins are very cautious with Johan, who actually has never thrown over 120 pitches in his career.

In the end, I was forced to settle for having seen the best performance of Johan Santana's career (according to Game Score, the second best was a 2004 start against the Royals, where he threw a CG 3-hit shutout, striking out 13 and walking 2).

In the 24 hours since, I have discovered how unique this performance was. In fact, it was the best performance since at least 1957 by a pitcher who pitched less than nine innings. Thanks to Baseball Reference's Play Index, here are the top 6:

It actually wasn't the most strikeouts ever for a pitcher who pitched 8 or less innings- Randy Johnson struck out 18 in 8 innings on September 27, 1992 (a game the Mariners, amazingly, ended up losing).

Perhaps the most impressive part of what Johan did last night is that he struck out 17 while only throwing just 112 pitches. That is the most Ks with under 115 pitches since the Play Index starts, in 1957.

Since I know you were wondering, the highest Game Score on record is from Dean Chance in 1964, as he pitched 14 shutout innings against the Yankees, allowing three hits and striking out 12 while walking 2. He was rewarded for his efforts with a no decision.

It is doubtful that the Twins will make a run at the playoffs, as they haven't really taken advantage of the struggles of the Central's top two teams, going 12-15 over the last month. They only have about a 5% chance of playing in October, but it's possible that Johan can make a late charge for the Cy Young. Yesterday bumped him up to sixth among starters in the current standings, and he really isn't that far behind the leaders (Haren and Beckett). It's not like he hasn't done this before; his career record in August and September is 37-9, with a 2.32 ERA.

Picture taken from here.

The Baseball Reference Play Index is where all these stats were found.