Washington Nationals’ Max Scherzer joined an elite club on Thursday after hitting 10 strikeouts against the Miami Marlins to reach a career record of 300 and become only the 17th player in MLB history to do so.
“It was something I dreamed of, reaching this mark,” Scherzer said, “because I know how hard it is to consistently go out there and strike guys out.”
Before Scherzer, there had been only 16 players who ever recorded 300 strikeouts or more in MLB and only two since 2002. Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers achieved the fete in 2015 while Sox’s Chris Sale hit his 300th strikeout last season.
Favorite to Win the Cy Young?
With Jacob deGrom’s record, Scherzer will probably not win the award. Funny enough, neither Kershaw nor Sale won the award after hitting 300 strikeouts respectively. The Nationals’ pitcher shouldn’t be counted off though.
Scherzer has been leading the league in innings, wins, WHIP and strikeouts. His ERA average of 2.53 is also better than the 2.90 and 2.96 records that earned him the Cy Young award in 2013 and 2016 respectively.
DeGrom holds an ERA record of 1.77, his career best and the lowest in the league this season. Cy Young award or not, the pitcher is in good company with his latest record. Only 5 players have recorded 300 strikeouts and won 3 Cy Young Awards, placing him with an elite class of Hall of Famers.
