With three strikeouts last night against the San Francisco Giants, Arizona Diamondbacks 3B Mark Reynolds broke his own single-season strike record of 204. Reynolds now has 206 strikeouts on the season.

While some people think this is the ultimate embarrassment for the hitter, I ask, what’s the big deal?

Strikeouts for a hitter is the most overrated stat in baseball. Here is all you need to know about strikeouts: Reggie Jackson is the career leader in strikeouts with 2,597.

Did anyone even know Jackson had that record? Does anyone remember Jackson for striking out the most times in the history of baseball? 

No, you don’t. You remember Jackson as being “Mr. October” and a prolific home run hitter.

Mike Schmidt, Willie Stargell, Tony Perez, Craig Biggio, Alex Rodriguez, Dale Murphy, Lou Brock, and Mickey Mantle are all in the top-20 for career strikeouts.

I don’t think anyone mentions strikeouts when you talk about these players.

The fact is Reynolds is having a phenomenal year. He is in the top 10 in the National League in home runs (43), RBI (100), slugging percentage (.562), runs (93), and stolen bases (24). He also has a .919 OPS, which ranks 12th in the NL.

And despite Reynolds' increased strikeout rate this year, his stats have improved across the board in 2009. He has increased his batting average by 27 points, his slugging percentage by 104 points, his OPS by 140 points, and his stolen bases by 13.

As long as Reynolds keeps producing the way he is, he can strikeout as much as he wants.

At the end of the day, it’s no big deal.