Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer added another achievement to his already brilliant career on Tuesday. He struck out his 300th hitter of the season, reaching the milestone for the first time in his career.
Max Scherzer is the third pitcher in the past 15 years to strikeout 300 batters in a single season. pic.twitter.com/sKISncb32G
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) September 26, 2018
Naturally, it drew a big reaction from Scherzer’s teammates and of course, the fans in Washington.
That’s #300!!!!’ #MadMax @Max_Scherzer #CyYoung #Nats #Natitude ⚾️⚾️⚾️ pic.twitter.com/fxENEOSRDt
— NatsNatitude (@NatsNatitude) September 26, 2018
Scherzer joins a very exclusive list of pitchers who have reached the milestone over the last 28 years.
And here is an updated list of pitchers who have reached 300 strikeouts in a season since 1990…
Randy Johnson
Curt Schilling
Pedro Martinez
Chris Sale
Clayton Kershaw
And, as of a few seconds ago, Max Scherzer— Jesse Dougherty (@dougherty_jesse) September 26, 2018
In the era of five, or even six-man rotations, when pitchers rarely go deep into games, 300 strikeouts has become a rare achievement for any pitcher. This certainly isn’t something that we’re going to see a lot of in the future.