Scherzer joins elite company with 1st career 300-K season
Max Scherzer has finally climbed Mount 300.
Scherzer, the preeminent strikeout artist of today's game, officially recorded his first career 300-strikeout season by setting Miami Marlins outfielder Austin Dean down swinging in the seventh inning.
Max Scherzer is the third pitcher in the past 15 years to strikeout 300 batters in a single season. pic.twitter.com/sKISncb32G
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) September 26, 2018
The Washington Nationals ace is just the 17th individual pitcher since 1900 to strike out at least 300 batters, and only the fifth to do so this century. Scherzer also becomes the first right-handed pitcher to do it since Curt Schilling in 2002.
| Year | Pitcher | Team | Ks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Randy Johnson | D-Backs | 347 |
| 2001 | Randy Johnson | D-Backs | 372 |
| 2002 | Randy Johnson | D-Backs | 334 |
| 2002 | Curt Schilling | D-Backs | 316 |
| 2015 | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | 301 |
| 2017 | Chris Sale | Red Sox | 308 |
| 2018 | Max Scherzer | Nationals | 300* |
*Season total as of Tuesday
Scherzer, who broke his own Nationals single-season strikeout record last week, joins Pedro Martinez as the only pitchers in Nationals/Montreal Expos history to have reached the magic mark of 300. He's five punchouts shy of tying Martinez's franchise record set back in 1997.
As far as the District of Columbia is concerned, Scherzer joins Walter Johnson as the only pitchers to strike out 300 batters for a team in Washington. Johnson did it twice during his remarkable career with the original Senators franchise.
The 34-year-old's 10 strikeouts on Tuesday also increased his career total 2,449, moving him past Andy Pettitte and into 41st place on baseball's all-time list.
Although there's a chance he could start Washington's season finale on Sunday on full rest, Tuesday likely marked Scherzer's final start of 2018. If that's the case, he finishes this season having tallied exactly 300 strikeouts - a mark that currently leads the major leagues - along with a 2.53 ERA over a big-league best 220 2/3 innings. His 150 hits allowed would also stand as the fewest ever given up during a 300-strikeout season, according to Stats By Stats.