MLB Sets Strikeout Record for 10th Consecutive Season

Major League Baseball as a whole Wednesday recorded 242 strikeouts to up the league's total for the season to 39,168.

The output from Wednesday pushed the season tally beyond the previous record of 38,982 set last season. In fact, it's the 10th straight season in which MLB has set a strikeout record, per Elias Sports Bureau (h/t ESPN Stats & Info).

Chris Sale leads the way in strikeouts on the mound by a wide margin, collecting 308 so far this season. Second on the list is Max Scherzer, who has set down 263 batters via strikeout. 

On the batter side of the equation, New York Yankees slugging rookie Aaron Judge—who leads the majors in homers—tops the league in strikeouts. He's gone down swinging or looking 13 more times than either of the two tied for second on the list in the Oakland Athletics' Khris Davis and Texas Rangers' Joey Gallo.

The league has transitioned toward the Three True Outcomes (home runs, strikeouts and walks). An article from Craig Edwards of Fangraphs from August highlighted this trend, led by Judge, Gallo and many other young players.

The league as a whole has already set records for both home runs and strikeouts, and ranks in the top 15 in MLB history for walks, per Baseball Reference. Those numbers are bound to rise in the last few days of the regular season, and it wouldn't be surprising if more records are set in 2018.