VIDEO: Chris Sale Becomes Fastest Pitcher to Record 2000 Strikeouts in MLB History
By Michael Luciano
Even when he's in the middle of the worst season of his career, Chris Sale is capable of being unhittable and breaking records on any given night. The Boston Red Sox starter recorded his 2,000th career strikeout when he got Indians rookie center fielder Oscar Mercado to wave at his trademark slider.
Sale set the record in 1,626 innings, which breaks the old mark set by Pedro Martinez (1,711 innings) for all pitchers, as well as the record for left-handed pitchers, which was held by Randy Johnson (1,733).
The fact that he not only beat these two Hall of Fame strikeout artists, but decimated their milestones speaks to how lethal Sale can be when he's on.
While players might be striking out more and more in this day and age, that shouldn't detract from Sale's achievement. Sale, who also holds the all-time records for strikeouts per nine innings and strikeouts per walk, will look break a few more records over the course of this season.