Jose Bautista ties Blue Jays’ all-time single-season strikeout record

Toronto Blue Jays' Jose Bautista. (Gail Burton/AP)

For most of his Toronto Blue Jays career, Jose Bautista has been the rare power hitter who’s tough to strike out.

From his breakout 2010 season until 2016, Bautista led all of baseball with 249 home runs. Remarkably, he also led qualified hitters in strikeout to walk ratio during that period, walking 661 times while striking out on 679 occasions.

The 2017 season hasn’t gone as well for Bautista, however. He has 22 home runs, but he has also struck out more than ever. On Tuesday, he tied the Blue Jays’ all-time single season strikeout record with his 159th whiff of the season.

For context, strikeouts are up around baseball. Entering play Tuesday, hitters were striking out in 21.6 per cent of plate appearances — an all-time record.

Here are the Blue Jays’ franchise leaders for strikeouts in a single season…

Player SO Year
Jose Bautista 157 2017
Jose Canseco 159 1998
Kelly Johnson 159 2012
Michael Saunders 157 2016
Fred McGriff 149 1988
Colby Rasmus 149 2012
Alex Gonzalez 149 2001
J.P. Arencibia 148 2013
Russell Martin 148 2016
Jesse Barfield 146 1986
Ed Sprague 146 1996

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