Sometimes pitchers have large numbers of strikeouts for their careers, and often that is because they pitch a ton of innings. That’s not a bad thing, because if you have a pitcher who can go deep into a game, chances are good he’s going to win you lots of games. But here I want to talk about those pitchers who strike out more than a batter per inning, or close to it. Those are the guys I like to watch, whether they start games or finish them, because they (most of the time) bring the heat and make batters swing and miss. Here is a list of those pitchers that are still active in the game today:
1. Randy Johnson, Arizona Diamondbacks (10.762)—Not only does the Big Unit lead this category for active pitchers, he leads every pitcher ever to play the game, including Nolan Ryan (9.548). I mean, think about that. This intimidating lefty strikes out almost 11 batters per nine innings. That’s not just really good, it’s a freak of nature. He even struck out 290 batters in 2004 at the age of FORTY. And none of us can think about Johnson without remembering that poor bird he disintegrated with one of his fastballs in spring training a few years back.
2. Kerry Wood, Chicago Cubs (10.290)—He once struck out 20 batters in a game, but with Wood being on the DL more than Pacman Jones is in strip clubs, he’s never quite reached his potential. Now he’s a closer, which will slow his strikeout totals, but not his average per nine.
3. Pedro Martinez, New York Mets (10.190)—In 1999, Martinez was in his prime, and had some of the most wicked stuff I’ve ever seen. That year, he struck out 313 in 213 innings, an average of 13.22 per nine innings. The poor guy keeps landing on the DL on the back nine of his career, but he’s still only 36.
4. Johan Santana, New York Mets (9.476)—One of the most dominant pitchers in the last five years is now in the spotlight of New York City, and so far as a Met he’s kept his one strikeout per inning ratio intact (52 in 52 innings). And it’s not just the heat with Johan—his changeup has made batters swing while the ball is only halfway to the mound.
5. Jake Peavy, San Diego Padres (9.031)—If Peavy drinks some of Trevor Hoffman’s potion for staying young, he might wind up with 4000 strikeouts for his career.
6. Arthur Rhodes, Seattle Mariners (8.856)—In 17 seasons, Rhodes has mostly been a reliever. But he’s only saved 30 games, which means he’s been relegated to set-up and middle relief. Still, Rhodes has managed to strike out 1003 batters in 1020 innings. Which begs the question: has no one thought of using this guy as a closer?
7. Hideo Nomo, free agent (8.734)—After a two year absence from the majors, Nomo was just released by the Royals and is expected to officially announce his retirement. But he hasn’t retired yet, so here he is on this list. Nomo has one of the most unconventional deliveries, and that alone has fooled many hitters over the years.
8. Curt Schilling, Boston Red Sox (8.600)—When Schilling isn’t convincing everyone that the blood on his sock in the playoffs a few years back was real, he’s still blowing hitters away.
9. Josh Beckett, Boston Red Sox (8.531)—Beckett proved he’s worth every penny of his salary by dominating in the playoffs. He’s done it with Boston, and he did it with Florida in 2003. The guy is just money.
10. Tom Gordon, Philadelphia Phillies (8.248)—It’s hard to believe Tom “Flash” Gordon has been pitching in the bigs for 20 years, but he has. And he’s racked up almost 2000 strikeouts. Wow.
Source: Baseball Reference.com
