Hey, did you hear about the Yankees franchise record set in the first inning in Game 2 of Tuesday’s doubleheader in Texas?
No, not that home run thing…we’re talking about the single-season strikeout record, which now belongs to Gerrit Cole after he rung up Nathaniel Lowe for his 249th K of 2022:
Cole entered the game tied with Ron Guidry for the most strikeouts in a season, and ended the night with nine, officially setting the record at 257. Guidry, of course, held the record for nearly 45 years, his 248 coming in his epic Cy Young 1978 season.
And, much like Aaron Judge set the single-season home run record earlier in the inning one game faster than Roger Maris did in 1961, Cole out-paced Guidry as well – his record came officially in 195 innings (it was the first out of the game, and he had 194 2/3 coming in) and 33rd start, while Guidry needed 35 starts and his final K came on the final out he recorded over 273 2/3 innings.
Of course, home runs and strikeouts are both much more prevalent in 2022 than they were in 1961 and 1978, respectively, so your mileage may vary – but Cole stands alone atop history, and so does Judge.
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