Sammy Sosa has proven that whenever he steps to the plate, he is a threat to hit one out of the park.
But he’s also a threat to strike out.
Sosa has reached many milestones in his career, and now he’s on the brink of a very exclusive group: The 2,000-strikeout club.
The only players with more strikeouts than Sosa are Reggie Jackson (2,597 strikeouts) and Andres Galarraga (2,000), and behind him are several other renowned free swingers. On Tuesday, Sosa had no strikeouts and a three-run home run in the eighth inning.
The Cubs face Arizona pitcher Casey Daigle on Wednesday.
To break Jackson’s all-time strikeout mark, Sosa would have to average about 150 strikeouts a year for the next four years. He has averaged 160 per season over the last seven years and doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
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No. / Name / AB / SO / HR / BB
1. Reggie Jackson / 9,864 / 2,597 / 563 / 1,375
His massive swings always seemed to knock off his helmet.
2. Andres Galarraga / 8,086 / 2,000 / 398 / 583
Since he struck out so often in Canada, are the strikeouts worth less?
3. Sammy Sosa / 7,638 / 1,998 / 546 / 815
More Top Picks Mouse
No matter what, the ball hawks on Waveland still stay on their toes.
4. Jose Canseco / 6,801 / 1,942 / 462 / 861
It’s amazing that he never pulled anything on some of those swings.
5. Willie Stargell / 7,927 / 1,936 / 475 / 937
Big fella struck out in three decades, all of them with the Pirates.
6. Mike Schmidt / 8,352 / 1,883 / 548 / 1,507
Somehow he never seemed to strike out against the Cubs (78 homers).
7. Tony Perez / 9,778 1,867 / 379 / 925
Similar at-bat totals to Jackson, but look at the difference in whiffs.
8. Fred McGriff / 8,685 / 1,863 / 491 / 1,296
One of three ex-Cubs on this list, although he didn’t stay long.
9. Dave Kingman / 6,677 / 1,816 / 442 / 608
With a big looping swing, the 6-foot-6 hitter is tallest on this list.
10. Bobby Bonds / 7,043 / 1,757 / 332 / 914
The father taught son Barry (1,393 strikeouts) to hit.
Numbers of note
25 Number of times D’backs pitcher Randy Johnson has fanned Sosa, highest among active pitchers.
174 Sosa’s season- high strikeout total in 162 games in 1997.
1,158 Total number of Cubs strikeouts in 2003, third-most in majors.