Last night Chris Sale did what has only been done 5 other times this century, and by including Sale just 4 different pitchers.
He struck out his 300th batter of the season.
Sale has been striking out batters like crazy all year, and last night reached the milestone by striking out Orioles 2B Ryan Flaherty during the Red Sox's 9-0 win over Baltimore last night.
As I said before this mark has only been reached 6 times this century. Here's who else accomplished that feat.
Player: Randy Johnson Year: 2000
Johnson proved that the turn of the century didn't mean he'd stop performing like he had been doing before. He recorded 347 strikeouts in 2000 which not only lead the league, but Johnson ended up being his 3rd most in a single season throughout his career. He also unbelievably averaged 12.6 strikeouts per 9 innings pitched, a record he'd go on to break the following year.
Player: Randy Johnson Year: 2001
If Randy's 2000 season was spectacular, then his 2001 season was probably the best of his illustrious career. He went 21-6 with a 2.49 ERA while recording 372 strikeouts, his most in a single season ever. Johnson also capitalized on his best season ever by winning his 3rd straight CY Young award, and to think he wasn't even done yet.
Player: Randy Johnson Year: 2002
Randy Johnson solidified himself as a future Hall of Famer after his 2002 campaign. He won his 4th, yes 4th straight CY Young award and struck out 334. More impressive than that was his average of 11.6 strikeouts per 9 innings as well as his 2.32 ERA. But Johnson wasn't the only player to accomplish this in 2002, he wasn't even the only Diamondback.
Player: Curt Schilling Year: 2002
Schilling picked up on what his teammate had been doing and recorded his own 300 strikeout season back in 2002. Schilling KO'ed 316 batters in 259 innings pitched. He was also right behind Johnson as he finished 2nd in CY Young voting. This season proved to be the end of an era for Johnson and Schilling, for neither of them managed to hit this mark ever again.
Player: Clayton Kershaw Year: 2015
In fact, it took 13 years for any pitcher to strikeout 300 batters again. Clayton reached this mark, albeit barely in 2015 when he struck out 301 players through 232 innings pitched. His hard work paid off as he was named to the NL All-Star team for the 5th year in a row, and finished 3rd in CY Young Voting.
Player: Chris Sale Year: 2017
The final player to hit this mark so far this century is none other than Chris Sale.
Sale has (so far) struck out exactly 300 batters in just 209 innings pitched. This is the first time he's ever reached this mark with his next closest being 274 back in 2015. He also joined the 1500 strikeout club and was able to capitalize on a spectacular debut season for Boston. Who knows if he will get much more, or any more for that matter. But he hit the mark and that in itself is hard enough to do.
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