Epilogue
Strikeouts are apparently officially OK, even as Adam Dunn gets into striking distance of Reggie Jackson’s all-time record of 2,597 whiffs that has stood since Jackson retired in 1987. Of course, Jackson has owned the record since 1982, when he passed Willie Stargell on the all-time list.
Dunn leads active players with 2,303 through Sunday’s games.
Here is the all-time top 10 in whiffs through
Of the top 10 players on the all-time list, a whopping seven of them played in the 21st century.
- 2,597—Reggie Jackson (1967-87)
- 2,548—Jim Thome (1991-2012)
- 2,306—Sammy Sosa (1989-2005, 2007)
- 2,303—Adam Dunn (2001-14)
- 2,075—Alex Rodriguez (1994-2013)
- 2,003—Andres Gallaraga (1985-98, 2000-04)
- 1,942—Jose Canseco (1985-2001)
- 1,936—Willie Stargell (1962-82)
- 1,901—Mike Cameron (1995-2011)
- 1,883—Mike Schmidt (1972-89)
Once upon a time, it was a matter of honor for a player to avoid striking out at just about any cost.
As evidenced by the numbers, those days are gone. Somewhere Bill “Swish” Nicholson is wondering if he can get a do-over on that nickname, since he’d be considered a contact hitter today.