There are just about four months until baseball returns to Chicago. I thought it would be a good time to revisit, for the first time in six years, the all-time rankings in both offensive and defensive categories for all iterations of the current 30 teams for the 1040 games I’ve identified that I have attended. We continue today on the offensive side of the ball with strikeouts.
Based on the raw numbers, the White Sox and Cubs are far and away the leaders in this category, as they are the teams I’ve seen the most. When you adjust the numbers per game, the Diamondbacks have a commanding lead with over nine strikeouts per game, the only team to average at least a strikeout per inning. Both the Cubs and the White Sox are in the bottom (or top, depending on your point of view) third, surprising given the number of at bats given to strikeout machines like Sammy Sosa, Jim Thome, and Adam Dunn. The California iteration of the Angels have the low water mark with a mere four strikeouts per game.
Strike Outs
| Team Name | Strike Outs |
|---|---|
| Chicago White Sox | 4764 |
| Chicago Cubs | 3153 |
| Minnesota Twins | 548 |
| Kansas City Royals | 510 |
| Detroit Tigers | 500 |
| Cleveland Indians | 485 |
| Houston Astros | 406 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 384 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 352 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 346 |
| Texas Rangers | 321 |
| Seattle Mariners | 314 |
| New York Yankees | 276 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 276 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 271 |
| Boston Red Sox | 268 |
| Oakland Athletics | 264 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 249 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 235 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 202 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 170 |
| Florida Marlins | 169 |
| San Francisco Giants | 166 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 166 |
| San Diego Padres | 161 |
| Colorado Rockies | 160 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 154 |
| New York Mets | 151 |
| Atlanta Braves | 149 |
| Washington Nationals | 97 |
| Montreal Expos | 41 |
| Tampa Bay Devil Rays | 35 |
| Cleveland Guardians | 25 |
| Anaheim Angels | 12 |
| Miami Marlins | 11 |
| California Angels | 8 |
Strike Outs per Game
| Team Name | Strike Outs |
|---|---|
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 9.05882352941176 |
| New York Yankees | 8.90322580645161 |
| Colorado Rockies | 8.88888888888889 |
| New York Mets | 8.88235294117647 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 8.78260869565217 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 8.65 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 8.58536585365854 |
| Oakland Athletics | 8.51612903225806 |
| Detroit Tigers | 8.47457627118644 |
| Boston Red Sox | 8.375 |
| Cleveland Indians | 8.36206896551724 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 8.34782608695652 |
| Cleveland Guardians | 8.33333333333333 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 8.3 |
| Houston Astros | 8.28571428571429 |
| Texas Rangers | 8.23076923076923 |
| Kansas City Royals | 8.2258064516129 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 8.21212121212121 |
| Montreal Expos | 8.2 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 8.10344827586207 |
| Minnesota Twins | 8.05882352941176 |
| Seattle Mariners | 7.85 |
| San Diego Padres | 7.66666666666667 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 7.66666666666667 |
| Washington Nationals | 7.46153846153846 |
| Florida Marlins | 7.34782608695652 |
| San Francisco Giants | 7.21739130434783 |
| Chicago Cubs | 7.21510297482838 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 7.11428571428571 |
| Atlanta Braves | 7.09523809523809 |
| Chicago White Sox | 7.08928571428571 |
| Tampa Bay Devil Rays | 7 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 6.2962962962963 |
| Anaheim Angels | 6 |
| Miami Marlins | 5.5 |
| California Angels | 4 |