Los Angeles Angels shortstop Zach Neto has 19 home runs so far, but he's competing for the all-time strikeout record.
Becoming an All-Star is a very different process these days, but part it is still about pursuing records. For several players who will be featured in Philadelphia next week, however, those records include a hot pursuit to become the all-time leaders in strikeouts.
Sam Blum of The Athletic covered the Angels until recently, and he included some quotes and material about Halos shortstop Zach Neto, who isn’t quite an All-Star, but he’s definitely part of a group engaged in this particular hot pursuit.
Blum also referenced Kyle Schwarber, who’s the lead dog in this dubious race back to the dugout, as he’s got 135 K’s in just 88 games so far.
“The irony [of this],” Blum wrote, “as Schwarber suggests, is that this race to this unenviable crown is being waged by very productive hitters. Three of the four were named to the All-Star game. And Neto, the lone non-All-Star, has a 119 OPS+, 39 extra-base hits and 2.5 bWAR this year.”
You don’t have to watch many Angels games to see what Neto’s up to here. He’s been hitting in the leadoff spot for nearly the entire season, which is a batting-average killer, and he’s selling out to hit homers. Neto has 19 so far, but he’s also in the “race” to overtake Schwarber with 128 strikeouts.
“The balls are starting to move way more than they used to. It’s tough,” Neto said. “Pitchers know how to throw a strike-to-ball pitch, or ball-to-strike pitch. It’s just tough. This league’s tough.
“I don’t pay attention to those numbers, because they’re gonna happen,” Neto said. “It’s just a matter of how you bounce back after that. I don’t want to let it be a snowball effect.”
As Blum noted, Neto would be on pace to strike out 233 times this season, although that would require him playing in 162 games. Blum also stated that “his candidacy for the record will come down to the wire,” along with James Wood of the Washington Nationals and Nick Kurtz of the Athletics.
So what’s this really about? As is almost always the case in sports, the answer is the ever-popular “follow the money.” Players get paid to hit homers and pitchers get paid to post strikeouts, which adds a healthy dose of skepticism to the idea that pitchers are better, the ball is moving more and so on.
As for Neto, he’s got an extra bit of motivation here. He’s playing for a team whose owner is on the record about not prioritizing winning, so selling out and living with the strikeouts while prioritizing the long ball is his best route to that big contract that will get him out of Anaheim.
