Did You Know...?

Strikeouts are an essential part of baseball. It was probably one of the first aspects of baseball first named, as I'm sure many of the first players/inventors struck out quite a bit before getting the hang of the newly spawned sport. Strikeouts are also one of the only statistics that mean a lot to both hitters and pitchers. Hitters fear the stat, while pitchers flaunt it. So with that, in this installment of Did You Know...?, we ask; Do you know who the all-time strikeout hitter is?

You might know the answer already and think this is a stupid or easy question. But when you consider it, it's not all that easy. The person who leads all of Major League Baseball history in strikeouts, had to sustain a lengthy career despite the frustration of constant failure. He therefore probably had to have a big bat to accompany his breezy struggles, just like many great hitters in today's game; such as Ryan Howard and Prince Fielder. Do you have it yet? Well, you might not have figured it, but even with all of these strikeouts, this player was known for his arrogance at the plate. Fortunately for him, he had the goods to back up his big swing, and big mouth. Ladies and gentleman, the all-time strikeout leader in MLB history, is Reggie Jackson.

Failure is part of the game. In fact, it's part of life. As a good hitter, a player will not succeed 70% of the time. But missing out on a hit is not as demoralizing as striking out. Swinging a bat and hitting nothing but air is a portrait in abject embarrassment. Most hitters walk back to the dugout while looking at the ground after such an event. Now I want you to sit back, and imagine doing that 2597 times! That's how many times Reggie Jackson struck out over the course of his 21 seasons. The Hall of Fame right-fielder actually had 13 more Ks than he did hits. Reggie happily took those whiffs, however, because he crushed just about every other ball that he made contact with. With over 1075 extra-base hits in his illustrious career, I doubt Reg cared much about his strikeouts. And when you consider the big swing he took, you can understand how he got all of those Ks.

If you have never seen Reggie Jackson take a swing at a ball, it is a thing of both beauty, and comedy. Reginald swung with such force that he literally twisted himself into the ground, crossing his legs underneath of him, while riding on the sides of his ankles. If he connected, the ball was gone. If the lefty missed, he kind of looked like an idiot. It was kind of 50/50 as to what you were going to get each night. The great thing about Reggie, though, was that he knew when the spotlight was on. He batted a fantastic .327 in his 27 World Series games, and as a Yankee in the 1977 World Series, Reggie gained his nickname Mr. October by blasting three home runs in one game, and hitting five over the course of the series. He was also incredibly quotable. He is known for saying "I didn't come to New York to be a star, I brought my star with me.", and "I'm the straw that stirs the drink." Like him or hate him, Mr. October was a colorful character.

But he's not the only colorful character on the all-time strikeout list. Oddly enough, it seems as though striking out a lot gives each member on the list a sense of lightened attitude. The second man on the list is still playing, and he just signed a one-year deal to remain the DH of the Minnesota Twins. Jim Thome is also one of the most cheerful characters in the game. While he no longer needs a glove, he can still be seen clowning around with his fellow players, flashing that big smile of his. He is also a tremendous clubhouse influence, probably one of the leading reasons he was brought back to Minnesota. At 39, Big Jim has 2395 Ks, and if he plays for another two years or so, he could potentially pass Jackson, but I doubt that will happen. Thome, like Jackson was, and to a degree, still is a feared homerun hitter that punishes the ball when contact is made. Jim even hit the longest homerun of his career just last year at the new Target Field. But because of that big cut, he tends to miss the near ones. It seems like a traceable pattern for these guys. The weird personalities that go along with it, that's harder to understand.

Sammy Sosa is third on the list with 2306 strikeouts. He was known as a colorful character while he played; even if he seems to have lost some of that pigment in his retirement. He mashed over 600 homers, though, and made it a ritual to run out to right-field at full speed. His jiving homerun celebrations helped lead to a change in today's game, where joviality at home plate has become something of a organized institution. Another guy, Jose Canseco, is fifth on the list with 1942 Ks. They don't get much crazier than Canseco. Maybe it's the steroids going to his head, but Canseco seemed like he was a nutcase during, and after his time in baseball. While going back for a pop fly in the outfield once, a ball actually bounced off of his gargantuan head and over the wall for a homerun. Canseco laughed all the way to the dugout, and then denied that it happened.

Willie Stargell makes an appearance on this list at number six. With 1936 Ks, Pops (as he was called) was one of the most feared power hitters of the late '60s and early '70s. As Baseball-reference.com puts it, "He was the first player to ever hit a home run completely out of Dodger Stadium, a feat he accomplished twice. He also hit the farthest home run in the history of Three Rivers Stadium and the longest home run recorded at Stade Olympique. Willie Stargell was not only a Hall of Fame slugger, but during his career was frequently called one of the nicest human beings in Major League Baseball." He was also the originator of "Stargell's Stars", the accoutrement on the hideously ugly 1970's uniforms of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The stars were handed out arbitrarily, but they were a nice, personal touch to an outfit that could make a punk-rocker look good.

And to round out my point, whatever it may be, we'll conclude with unlucky number 13 on the list of all-time strikeout kings. Manny Ramirez, Man-Ram, with 1809 Ks could potentially vault all the way up to seventh place by the end of this season. And few come nuttier than Manny. Manny played left-field, kind of. He would wander around out there, talking to people in the stands, occasionally taking a leak in the Green Monster at Fenway Park between innings, and growing his dreadlocks so long that he almost had the governor of California trying to kill him. He was also one of the greatest hitters ever. I say was, because the past two years haven't been as kind to poor Manny, and unless he has a bounce-back year, which is tough to do at 38, this will probably be his last hoorah. But he usually had a smile to go with his crazy antics, like not playing hard because the team he was on didn't deserve him. You know, normal stuff like that.

So maybe there is something to this. Maybe swinging the bat so hard and missing actually loosens the brain from the skull and knocks some cells loose. It could be possible that striking out so often is like headbanging, or getting multiple concussions. Maybe it makes you funny, but not in a "Haha" way. Or maybe it doesn't do anything at all, and it's just a coincidence that the guys who struck out the most had the sense of humor enough to deal with it and move on, and often have a better career because of it. Perhaps we can learn something from this, and that is not to take yourself so damn seriously. After all, if we've learned anything from the first decade of the 21st century, it's to ask, "Why so serious?"