Wow. That's a little crazy, I have to say. Between 2001-2013, there have been just three pitchers with over 300 strikeouts in a season: Curt Schilling for the 2002 Diamondbacks, and Randy Johnson for the 2001 and 2002 Diamondbacks. Johnson and Schilling in their Arizona years are all 5 of the top 5; #6 is Darvish '13 with 277.
What I'm saying is, 300 strikeouts is a truly insane number so I'd go with the under.
BTW, in terms of strikeouts per inning, 2014 pitchers with a shot at the record include not just Strasburg (who is currently #1, ahead of Randy Johnson) but also Jose Fernandez, Zack Greinke, Max Scherzer, Masohiro Tanaka, and someone named Drew Hutchinson who pitches for Toronto.
Interesting. I looked up a pitcher I have read about ever since I learned to read, plus a few modern pitchers:
- Walter Johnson broke 300 K's twice: 1910 and 1912. He led the AL in K's about 13 times. His 1913 season was astounding.
- Bob Feller did it once, although he had 348 K's that year
- Tom Seaver never
- Ron Guidry never, even in 1978
- Nolan Ryan broke the 300 K mark 6 times, but also led the league in walks about seven times
- Steve Carleton once
- Mickey Lolich once
However, all of these pitchers were expected to pitch deeper into a game, if not to finish it. So:
(1) Getting 300 K's puts a pitcher into an elite group
(2) Even harder with teams counting pitches and usually replacing a pitcher soon after pitch number 100.
