Oakland Athletics: A Record They Should Not Be Proud of

As Oakland Athletics designated hitter Chris Carter stepped up to the plate against Texas Rangers pitcher Roy Oswalt Wednesday night, he had no idea he would be making history for his franchise.

Following a 1-2 count, Carter whiffed on the 91 MPH fastball that Oswalt blew by him. As the batter walked back to the dugout, his strikeout officially marked an American League high and low, depending how you look at it.

The Athletics now hold the record for the most strikeouts in one season in the American League. With that one pitch, the team reached No. 1,325 on the season. The previous record of 1,324 was set in 2007 by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

As if they were looking to add even more to the total, nine more strikeouts were tallied by the end of the game.

Still, though, on the bright side, they did win the game, 9-3. They also have seven games left on the season, in which they are in top contention for the coveted Wild Card spot in the American League. If the season ended today, the one-game Wild Card playoff would feature the A's and Orioles. It will still come down to the wire, however, as the Angels and Devil Rays are in definite contention.

The Athletics' chances of breaking the most strikeouts in a season total by any MLB team? They would need around 200 strikeouts in their last stretch of the regular season to beat out the Arizona Diamondbacks, who recorded 1,529 in 2010.