Top Strikeout Staff IV

What was the post-WW II staff strikeout (SO) status in the National League (NL)? It was the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers in the early years. They led the NL in staff SO an unbelievable 16 consecutive years, from 1948-1963! For a variety of reasons, the NL typically led the AL in SO as well.

Since WW II, the AL has led the NL only once in 1956, when Indians’ Herb Score was leading the Tribe and AL …….except for the 1964-68 period! That’s right, not only were the '64-68 Indians’ staff outdistancing the rest of the AL by almost 200 SO/ season, they were helping the AL lead the NL an unprecedented, and still unmatched, 5 consecutive years.

In the NL, during the same 5-year period the Indians led the AL, the Cincinnati Reds broke the Dodgers’ stranglehold on the staff SO title, striking out 1122 batters in 1964 (40 less than the Indians), followed by 1113 in ’65 (43 less than the Tribe), while leading the NL both years. They also led the NL in ’67 with 1065 (124 less than the Indians), while leading the NL in average SO for the 5-year period with 1061 per season…. 93 less than the Indians!

Insofar as the ’72-76 Angels are still in the discussion on the top AL SO staff, how did they fare compared to the NL? The NL leaders averaged 1,008 SO / season from ‘72-76, 16 more than the Angels.

The 2007-11 Red Sox? In the absence of the DH, the NL averaged 7.3 SO/ 9 innings in 2011, compared to 6.9 for the AL overall, despite inter-league play. NL dominance in this statistic continues.

By the metrics defined in the first post in this series, the Indians do stand as the top SO staff in the AL since WW II. Some will point to the modulators and modifiers of performance affecting the comparisons: strike zone, mound height, DH, dead-ball eras, Astro-Turf, relief pitcher use, day/night games, doubleheaders, etc. The Indians’ records were broken in the PED era, whether on the basis of hitters swinging for the fences and SO more frequently, or on the basis of pitchers’ performance being aided by PEDs. I’ve pointed to the fact the Indians accomplished the records pitching in the stadium with the largest foul area, which I’ve shown to correlate with a decrease in SO by hitters, yet to be accurately quantified. The gauntlet’s thrown down for discussion: if not the Indians, then who?

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