Chris Sale records 300th strikeout, first AL pitcher since 1999
By Asher Fair
For the first time since 1999, an American League pitcher has recorded 300 strikeouts in a season. Chris Sale pulled off the historic feat.
The offseason trade that sent Chris Sale from the Chicago White Sox to the Boston Red Sox appears to be paying off for the leaders of the American League East. Sale recorded his 300th strikeout of the season in Wednesday’s win against the Baltimore Orioles.
Sale, 28, struck out 13 batters in Boston’s dominant 9-0 win at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, improving the team’s record to 88-64 and extending their lead in the AL East over the New York Yankees (85-67) to two full games.
Sale (17-7, 2.75 ERA) entered the night with 287 strikeouts thus far in the 2017 MLB season. After fanning 13 batters, he hit the 300 strikeout mark, becoming the first American League pitcher to do so since Pedro Martinez, who is widely considered one of the greatest pitchers of all time .Martinez pulled the feat off in the 1999 season as a member of the Red Sox, when he struck out 313 batters.
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That’s right, the accomplishment of the 300-strikeout feat had not yet been accomplished in this millennium by an American League pitcher. Sale tore down that 18-year-old barrier.
Sale’s previous career high in strikeouts in a season was 274, which he recorded in his sixth MLB season in 2015 with the White Sox. He had already passed his career high strikeout total before Wednesday night’s games against the Orioles.
With 10 games left on Boston’s schedule and the team having just a 3-game lead over the Yankees for first place in the AL East, we may get to see Chris Sale pitch twice more before the postseason begins. How many more strikeouts will he record? Will he pass Martinez’s mark of 313 strikeouts?
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Do you think any pitcher will ever come close to touching Charles Radbourn’s single-season strikeout record of 441 set back in 1884? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure to stay tuned to FanSided for all of your sports and entertainment news and analysis.