“Extremely fastball, it will improve further…” Scherzer’s bony advice, will the mustachioed ‘strikeout king’ understand?

While Shohei Ohtani (LA Angels) and Ronald Acuna Jr. (Atlanta Braves) are running toward the MVP of both leagues, the young gun fireballer is making amazing progress in the pitching category. Right-hander Spencer Strider, Acuna Junior’s teammate.

Strider strikes out batters at a rate approaching 40% with his fastball, which has a maximum of 100.5 mph and an average of 97.2 mph this season. The average fastball speed decreased by 1 mile from 98.2 miles last year, but it is analyzed that the control and game operation are rather stable.

As of the 24th (Korean time), Strider is the overwhelming No. 1 in the strikeout category with 189. He caught 27 more than second place Toronto Blue Jays Kevin Gaussman (162). He made 20 starts and threw 116⅔ innings, going 11-3 with an earned run average of 3.78, a WHIP of 1.09, and a batting average of 0.211.

On the 21st, against the Arizona Diamondbacks, he allowed 4 runs on 4 hits in 6 innings while striking out 13, recording more than 10 strikeouts in the last 3 games in a row. There are eight double-digit strikeout games this season.

He faced 476 batters, so his strikeout rate reached 39.71%, and his 9th inning average SO/9 was 14.58.

The highest SO/9 in a season in major league history is 14.20, marked by Shane Bieber in 2020, a season shortened to 60 games per team. Based on the normal season, it is 13.82 recorded by Gerrit Cole in 2019. It seems very likely that Strider will be the new protagonist of SO/9.

The Striders struck out 202 batters in 131⅔innings last year. He reached the season’s 200 strikeout mark in 130 innings, the fastest pace ever. It broke Randy Johnson’s 130⅔ innings in 2001.

In addition, the birth of a pitcher with 300 strikeouts in four years is expected. Strider can strike out 312 if he maintains the current pace. Cole and Justin Verlander (326), who were Houston Astros one-two punchers in 2019, have struck out 300 most recently.

The active legend pitcher, who has been keeping an eye on Strider, draws attention by giving sincere advice. It’s Max Scherzer.

“He has a great fastball,” Scherzer recently told Fan Grafs, “and he’s still improving. When I was playing my rookie season in Arizona, (senior) Flash Gordon said to me, ‘You didn’t come to the big leagues as an ace. ‘How you get hitters out multiple times across the lineup.’ It takes time to keep that level steady.”

Flash Gordon is a right-handed pitcher with 138 wins and 158 saves in his major league career from 1988 to 2009. Scherzer was on the verge of retirement when he was spending his rookie season in 2009 with Arizona. It was the first time I heard from Gordon that he needs to know how to throw consistently to become a true great pitcher.

When it comes to consistency, there is no pitcher quite like Scherzer. He still reigns as an ace, throwing a fast ball in the mid-90s at the age of 39 this year. He has a career record of 209 wins, 3307 strikeouts, and an earned run average of 3.15.스포츠토토

“According to the advice I heard a long time ago, I think Spencer will continue to improve. He’s adding new things to his game, throwing better and striking out more hitters. As long as he’s healthy, he’s going to do a lot.”

However, Scherzer said, “The most negative aspect of baseball is that a lot of pitchers get injured. There are many reasons, and I don’t have three hours to explain it, but starting pitchers get hurt at a higher rate. In my view, pitchers just want to see how hard they can throw and what curveballs they can throw. And the rest is a ‘by the way, if it hurts, it hurts’ attitude, that’s the problem.” This means neglecting injury prevention and management.