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leatherman
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Last Friday, Billy Wagner pitched a scoreless 9th inning to earn his 34th save, striking out Angel Pagan to end the game. It was the 1179th strikeout of Wagner's career, a seemingly insignificant accomplishment. But it wasn't.
For pitchers, career rate stats such as ERA require a minimum of 1000 innings pitched. Randy Johnson was the all time leader in strikeouts per 9 innings (K/9) when he retired, with 10.6098 Ks per 9 innings (4875 Ks in 4135.1 IP).
Wagner doesn't have 1000 IP yet. He currently sits at 896.2 IP, but he is the K/9 career king now. Here is how:
To be #1, you have to pass Randy Johnson's 10.6098 K/9. Wagner's 1179th strikeout would give him a K/9 of 10.611 K/9 if he had 1000 IP, so Wagner could feasibly throw 103.1 innings without ever recording a strikeout, and still have a higher career K/9 ratio than Johnson.
So congratulations, Billy Wagner. You have the greatest strikeout rate in Major League history. Wagner celebrated this by going out the next night and striking out the side for his 35th save against the Mets, of course.
David
For pitchers, career rate stats such as ERA require a minimum of 1000 innings pitched. Randy Johnson was the all time leader in strikeouts per 9 innings (K/9) when he retired, with 10.6098 Ks per 9 innings (4875 Ks in 4135.1 IP).
Wagner doesn't have 1000 IP yet. He currently sits at 896.2 IP, but he is the K/9 career king now. Here is how:
To be #1, you have to pass Randy Johnson's 10.6098 K/9. Wagner's 1179th strikeout would give him a K/9 of 10.611 K/9 if he had 1000 IP, so Wagner could feasibly throw 103.1 innings without ever recording a strikeout, and still have a higher career K/9 ratio than Johnson.
So congratulations, Billy Wagner. You have the greatest strikeout rate in Major League history. Wagner celebrated this by going out the next night and striking out the side for his 35th save against the Mets, of course.
David
