Fansided

MLB: Strikeouts at record pace for 9th straight year

By Phil Watson

Among hitters qualified for the batting title, no one strikes out more frequently this year than Adam Dunn of the Chicago White Sox, once every 2.6 at-bats. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Among hitters qualified for the batting title, no one strikes out more frequently this year than Adam Dunn of the Chicago White Sox, once every 2.6 at-bats. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 9
Next
Catcher Wes Westrum, shown on this 1955 Bowman card, struck out more frequently than any hitter from 1946-55. But his rate was less than the average strikeout rate in 2014.
Catcher Wes Westrum, shown on this 1955 Bowman card, struck out more frequently than any hitter from 1946-55. But his rate was less than the average strikeout rate in 2014. /

1946-55: Back From The War

As Major League Baseball  returned to normal after its stars returned from battlefields in Europe and the Pacific, we’ll take a look at how the relationship between home runs and strikeouts began to evolve, based on average team totals each season:

YEAR R/G HR SO AB/SO
1946 4.01 76 606 8.70
1947 4.36 98 572 9.22
1948 4.58 97 564 9.36
1949 4.61 107 559 9.43
1950 4.85 130 597 8.88
1951 4.55 116 583 9.11
1952 4.18 106 649 8.11
1953 4.61 130 638 8.32
1954 4.38 121 638 8.22
1955 4.48 139 675 7.74

As the above table shows, as home run totals began to increase through the early 1950s, strikeout rates began to increase, as well.

But with the increase in power, scoring did increase as well, just not as much. In 1946, teams averaged 4.01 runs per game, but in 1955—with the most home runs hit over this 10-year period—teams scored at less than a half-run per game more, just 4.48.

The most frequent strikeout victims among hitters with more than 2,500 plate appearances over the course of the decade were quite the mixed bag—journeymen catchers mixed in with Hall of Fame sluggers:

Rk Player AB/SO G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG
1 Wes Westrum 4.5433 789 2099 288 459 53 6 92 305 454 462 .219 .361 .381
2 Roy Smalley 4.8665 778 2443 258 558 94 29 60 288 233 502 .228 .299 .364
3 Mickey Mantle 5.0334 658 2411 510 719 114 38 121 445 412 479 .298 .400 .528
4 Andy Seminick 5.1752 1112 3426 443 848 125 22 149 498 519 662 .248 .352 .427
5 Larry Doby 5.3810 1146 4068 767 1164 180 44 202 731 677 756 .286 .391 .501
6 Gus Zernial 5.7251 868 3166 461 859 116 20 182 614 303 553 .271 .338 .493
7 Eddie Joost 6.1809 973 3486 644 863 146 19 121 452 785 564 .248 .389 .404
8 Duke Snider 6.3782 1135 4267 791 1312 230 57 233 810 516 669 .307 .383 .552
9 Gil Hodges 6.6917 1227 4450 736 1237 191 33 239 864 625 665 .278 .367 .497
10 Roy Sievers 6.8313 676 2268 329 592 114 20 84 407 299 332 .261 .348 .440

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 6/23/2014.

Ralph Kiner hit the most home runs during this 10-year period, 369, and struck out only once every 6.95 at-bats. Stan Musial and Ted Williams, known for their combination of power and batting average, were next on the list.

Musial hit 289 home runs and struck out once every 17.23 at-bats. Williams checked in with 267 home runs and a whiff rate of once every 12.07 at-bats.

Home/MLB