MLB: Strikeouts at record pace for 9th straight year
By Phil Watson
1976-85: Strikes And Strikeouts
Another round of expansion (and rumors of a rabbit ball) jumped team scoring from 3.99 runs a game in 1976 to 4.47 in 1977 as the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays joined the American League.
Strikeout rates climbed back above seven per at-bat as the 1970s turned into the 1980s, but after a strike wiped out roughly a third of the 1981 season, the rate began to spiral again, all the way to 6.37 at-bats per K by 1985, the worst level of contact since 1972.
YEAR | R/G | HR | SO | AB/SO |
1976 | 3.99 | 93 | 781 | 7.02 |
1977 | 4.47 | 140 | 835 | 6.63 |
1978 | 4.10 | 114 | 771 | 7.06 |
1979 | 4.46 | 132 | 771 | 7.13 |
1980 | 4.29 | 119 | 777 | 7.13 |
1981* | 4.00 | 69 | 509 | 7.14 |
1982 | 4.30 | 130 | 816 | 6.79 |
1983 | 4.31 | 127 | 835 | 6.61 |
1984 | 4.26 | 125 | 865 | 6.39 |
1985 | 4.33 | 139 | 864 | 6.37 |
*–1991 season was shortened by players’ strike in June.
Only three players were below the four at-bats per strikeout line from 1976-85, noted free swingers Gorman Thomas, Reggie Jackson and Dave Kingman.
The distribution of talent in the top 10 was similar to the previous decade—two Hall of Famers (Jackson, Mike Schmidt), only two non All-Stars (Butch Hobson, Jerry Martin).
Rk | Player | AB/SO | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Gorman Thomas | 3.6508 | 1137 | 3921 | 576 | 908 | 181 | 9 | 238 | 696 | 586 | 1074 | .232 | .331 | .464 |
2 | Reggie Jackson | 3.7890 | 1342 | 4759 | 730 | 1255 | 217 | 20 | 276 | 868 | 650 | 1256 | .264 | .354 | .492 |
3 | Dave Kingman | 3.9211 | 1254 | 4372 | 589 | 1063 | 144 | 15 | 294 | 811 | 403 | 1115 | .243 | .309 | .485 |
4 | Bobby Bonds | 4.0844 | 690 | 2467 | 400 | 637 | 88 | 21 | 114 | 387 | 325 | 604 | .258 | .345 | .450 |
5 | Tony Armas | 4.1800 | 1103 | 4088 | 502 | 1022 | 153 | 31 | 213 | 669 | 206 | 978 | .250 | .285 | .459 |
6 | Gene Tenace | 4.2632 | 878 | 2349 | 348 | 561 | 109 | 14 | 102 | 351 | 590 | 551 | .239 | .399 | .427 |
7 | Mike Schmidt | 4.3736 | 1482 | 5209 | 1004 | 1415 | 250 | 46 | 365 | 1007 | 991 | 1191 | .272 | .388 | .548 |
8 | Greg Luzinski | 4.4012 | 1228 | 4322 | 611 | 1170 | 228 | 11 | 216 | 780 | 619 | 982 | .271 | .366 | .478 |
9 | Butch Hobson | 4.5009 | 736 | 2552 | 314 | 633 | 107 | 23 | 98 | 397 | 183 | 567 | .248 | .297 | .423 |
10 | Jerry Martin | 4.5660 | 948 | 2525 | 320 | 639 | 122 | 16 | 83 | 333 | 195 | 553 | .253 | .308 | .413 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 6/23/2014.
Schmidt led the era in homers with 365 but also struck out at a high rate. Jim Rice had 308 homers in the 10-year period and struck out once in every 5.84 at-bats.
Among the top 10 home run hitters from 1976-85, only Dave Winfield (7.56) and Eddie Murray (7.12) had strikeout rates better than one K every seven at-bats.
Times, they were a-changin’.