I don’t get it; there really should have been a ceremony.
Alex Rodriguez became just the fifth player in major league history to strike out 2,000 times when he went down swinging against Felix Hernandez in the sixth inning tonight.
Rodriguez clearly looked the video board after the strikeout, obviously expecting at least some sort of an announcement. Particularly since the event happened in Seattle. It really was quite surprising the Mariners didn’t set off fireworks or release some doves or something.
A-Rod overtook Jose Canseco for fifth place on the all-time strikeout list earlier this year, though he currently has Adam Dunn gaining ground on him there. He’s just four strikeouts away from moving into fourth place:
1. Reggie Jackson - 2,597
2. Jim Thome - 2,530
3. Sammy Sosa - 2,306
4. Andres Galarraga - 2,003
5. Alex Rodriguez - 2,000
6. Adam Dunn - 1,953
7. Jose Canseco - 1,942
8. Willie Stargell - 1,936
9. Mike Cameron - 1,901
10. Mike Schmidt - 1,883
A-Rod recorded the first 616 of his strikeouts with the Mariners. He fanned 379 times for the Rangers, and he’s now at 1,005 strikeouts with the Yankees. Considering that he’s signed for five more years after this one, he has a shot to eventually replace Reggie atop the strikeout list if he can stay relatively healthy. He averaged 116 strikeouts per season from his first full year in 1996 through 2011.