September 24, 2009

Mark Reynolds Sets New Single-Season Strikeout Record: Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Mark Reynolds has struck out 206 times this season, passing the major league record 204 he set last year. "So what?" said Reynolds, who hit 43 homers and 100 RBIs between whiffs.

posted by rcade to baseball at 03:27 PM - 19 comments

Related BaseballReference thread.

posted by yerfatma at 03:43 PM on September 24, 2009

yeah, but did he "steal" any bases?

posted by Spitztengle at 04:17 PM on September 24, 2009

Sounds like he's one of those that wants to hit it out of the park or nothing. With a good batting coach and some meditation, he could end up being as good as a Chipper Jones or better. He's 2 years younger than when Chipper made the list of 40+/20+ and overall stats are slightly lower, but not so much to drop him, just to give him extra practice and mentoring before the beginning of the next season. Let him calm down and find his groove and we could see something spectacular next year. Or I could be wrong and he breaks the strikeout record again next year with no HR and no SB....

posted by stalnakerz at 05:44 PM on September 24, 2009

I have no problem with Reynolds breaking his own strike out record which he set last year, the guy hit 43 bombs to go along with 100 RBIs. Babe Ruth was also known as a guy that would swing with all of his might and it was either he hit the long ball or he struck out swinging....and spinning like a top doing so. Not many guys hit 43 homers in a season to compliment the 100 RBIs the way Reynolds did. I agree with him, "So what?"

posted by BornIcon at 06:42 AM on September 25, 2009

Babe Ruth "either hit the long ball or he struck out swinging" Do you come from a parallel universe? Ruth averaged 86 strikeouts (weighted to a 162 game schedule). The most he ever struck out in a single season was 93. BTW his lifetime BA is 342. Pretty hard to do for someone who either strikes out or hits a homer.

posted by pullmyfinger at 08:47 AM on September 25, 2009

Babe Ruth was also known as a guy that would swing with all of his might and it was either he hit the long ball or he struck out swinging....and spinning like a top doing so.

Oh really?

714 career home runs
2873 1B
506 2B
136 3B
123 SB
5,793 total bases
2,062 career BB
.342 career BA
.474 career OBP
Never struck out more than 93 times in a season

Sure about your "spinning like a top" analysis?

posted by The_Black_Hand at 09:24 AM on September 25, 2009

Did I even say that he struck out as many times as Reynolds? Before Ruth even started hitting homeruns, players were leading the league with 12 HR which is ridiculous compared with today's standards. The point being is that Ruth was known for swinging with everything he had and when he struck out, he struck out badly.

Read this quote: "Babe Ruth bears some of the responsibility for this, for demonstrating the strategic advantages of the long ball vs. "Little Ball." Yet while the Bambino was renowned for his healthy hacks, and held baseball's career strikeout record from 1926 until 1964, he now ranks a remote 87th in that shameful statistic. (Ruth's contemporary and teammate infielder Joe Sewell struck out no more than nine times in any of his last nine seasons.)" from this site.

Never struck out more than 93 times in a season

And that was still a high number for strikeouts when Ruth was playing.

Sure about your "spinning like a top" analysis?

Positive about that. You guys act as if I'm making this stuff up. Look it up for yourselves and notice what was said about Ruth when he struck out.

posted by BornIcon at 09:33 AM on September 25, 2009

Babe Ruth was also known as a guy that would swing with all of his might and it was either he hit the long ball or he struck out swinging....and spinning like a top doing so.

While I agree with your general point, I think your image of Ruth is based on a single photo or something. Ruth led the league in strikeouts 5 times but never exceeded 93 total Ks in a season. That year he had an On Base Percentage of .545 (!). Not exactly a three true outcomes player (only 41 of his 205 hits were home runs). And the fact that both he and Mark Reynolds were carbon based forms of life that breathed air does not make Reynolds a potential all-time great. Rob Deer also swung from his heels.

posted by yerfatma at 09:40 AM on September 25, 2009

Look it up for yourselves and notice what was said about Ruth when he struck out.

Well, hell, that's all the science and fact I need. What some guy said about a strikeout he might have seen some 70 years ago. Well played, BI. Well played, indeed.

posted by The_Black_Hand at 09:51 AM on September 25, 2009

Ruth led the league in strikeouts 5 times but never exceeded 93 total Ks in a season

Are you guys comparing Ruth's strikeouts per season against Mark Reynolds'? I mean, he did in fact hold the strikeout record from 1926 until 1964 so it's not as if he wasn't striking out regularly. Ruth was known as the homerun hitter of his era since guys weren't hitting that many out of the park at that time. Ruth was a great player, some would argue that he's the greatest to ever play the game since he was a great pitcher before he become the power hitter that we all know about but the guy struck out alot.

What some guy said about a strikeout he might have seen some 70 years ago.

No TBH, the only fact that you need to consider is the fact that Ruth held the strikeout record for 38 years. That was no accident, he just struck out alot. It's not about what "some guy" saw, it's simply stating facts about Ruth's strikeouts.

posted by BornIcon at 10:04 AM on September 25, 2009

I mean, he did in fact hold the strikeout record from 1926 until 1964 so it's not as if he wasn't striking out regularly.

And yet Reynolds has shattered Ruth's ancient strikeout standards with consecutive 200k seasons. It's unprecedented in baseball history to whiff at that magnitude. The Babe Ruth comparison is simply not apt.

Reynolds is a very good offensive ballplayer at the moment, as his 40+ bombs attest. (I don't care very much about his RBI numbers, as that's a completely overrated stat.) He markedly raised his BA this year, along with his OBP and total walks, all of which are good things. His OPS+ of 131 was the best of his three-year career. Baseball Reference raises comparisons to Mike Schmidt, and what's not to like about that?

My only concern, were I drafting for a dynasty league for instance, is his "So what?" attitude. Reynolds is approaching his prime, his bat is moving as quickly as it ever will, and when he makes contact, he blasts the ball out of the park. That won't always be the case, and unless he makes a concerted effort to improve his plate discipline, his stats will go way downhill when he cracks 30.

Now, a two-word quote shouldn't damn him in our minds, but my hope is that Reynolds will strive to be more like Adam Dunn, who strikes out many times a season but also complements that with 100+ walks a year. A player with "young player" skills like Reynolds ought to be continually working on his plate discipline, or his career will be as short as many a free-swinging slugger's before him.

posted by Venicemenace at 10:26 AM on September 25, 2009

And yet Reynolds has shattered Ruth's ancient strikeout standards with consecutive 200k seasons. It's unprecedented in baseball history to whiff at that magnitude. The Babe Ruth comparison is simply not apt.

Aaaaand..once again, I'm not the one comparing Reynolds to Ruth, you guys are. I made a comment that Ruth also struck out because he basically was either swing and make hard contact or miss and miss wildly but all was well because he produced.

I'm not putting Reynolds in the same company as Ruth, all I said was that Ruth struck out alot but you guys make it sound as if I'm comparing Ruth to Mark Scutaro.

posted by BornIcon at 10:36 AM on September 25, 2009

Aaaaand..once again, I'm not the one comparing Reynolds to Ruth, you guys are. I made a comment that Ruth also struck out because he basically was either swing and make hard contact or miss and miss wildly but all was well because he produced.

So, in other words, you compared Babe Ruth to Mark Reynolds. Thanks for playing.

posted by The_Black_Hand at 11:03 AM on September 25, 2009

So, in other words, you compared Babe Ruth to Mark Reynolds. Thanks for playing.

If swinging hard and missing wildly is comparing Ruth to Reynolds, fine. Please come again.

posted by BornIcon at 11:28 AM on September 25, 2009

I have no problem with Reynolds breaking his own strike out record which he set last year, the guy hit 43 bombs to go along with 100 RBIs. Babe Ruth was also known as a guy that would swing with all of his might and it was either he hit the long ball or he struck out swinging....and spinning like a top doing so.

So, in your world, that's not a comparison between Reynolds and Ruth?

posted by The_Black_Hand at 11:37 AM on September 25, 2009

That they both struck out alot, sure. But, wasn't it you that decided to pull out Ruth's stats as if I compared Ruth's career to Reynolds?

714 career home runs
2873 1B
506 2B
136 3B
123 SB
5,793 total bases
2,062 career BB
.342 career BA
.474 career OBP
Never struck out more than 93 times in a season

We're splitting hairs here, we can agree to disagree but the point was: They both struck out alot but still produced.

posted by BornIcon at 11:45 AM on September 25, 2009

If that was your point, it's not a very good one.

162-game averages for Mark Reynolds and Babe Ruth

Reynolds: .259 BA / .341 OBP / .506 SLG - 35 HR, 103 RBI - 214 K, 69 BB - 113 OPS+

Ruth: .342 BA / .474 OBP / .690 SLG - 46 HR, 143 RBI - 86K, 133 BB - 207 OPS+

---

One thing I will say for Reynolds, he is a solid basestealer as well. He's one of those guys who absolutely rules in fantasy baseball, above and beyond his all-around skills in the actual game, but I'd take him on my team, real or imagined, anytime.

posted by Venicemenace at 12:04 PM on September 25, 2009

If that was your point, it's not a very good one.

Says you. It was still my point that they both struck out alot which is all I said. Ruth lead the league in strikeouts in his era just as Reynolds is leading the league in this era. Plus, Ruth got walked more than half of what Reynolds did.

posted by BornIcon at 02:39 PM on September 25, 2009

It was still my point that they both struck out alot which is all I said.

They were also both bipeds who lived in North America during the current geological period.

posted by yerfatma at 04:08 PM on September 25, 2009

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