Braves' Spencer Strider Breaks His Own Strikeout Record by Blowing Away Shohei Ohtani

Breaking your own record must be the coolest feeling—especially when you do so against baseball’s best player.

Braves ace Spencer Strider made MLB history on Tuesday, shattering the record he set himself just last year after recording his 200th strikeout of the season.

Strider entered Tuesday’s game needing just one strikeout for the two-century mark on the season, and he achieved that in the top of the first inning, sitting down Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani for the milestone strikeout.

Last year, Strider became the fastest pitcher in league history to record 200 strikeouts in a single season, doing so in just 130 innings on the mound. He bested that remarkable feat in 2023, achieving his 200th strikeout in just 123 1/3 innings.

It’s hard to think of a better way to break your own MLB record than by striking out the undisputed best player in the game. Strider did just that as he skillfully punched out the American League MVP favorite on three consecutive pitches. 

Spencer Strider vs. Ohtani.

Round 1 goes to Quadzilla.

Strider's 200th K. Fastest to 200 Ks in history. Again. pic.twitter.com/LMDMVaM7tR

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 1, 2023

Ohtani wasn’t even particularly close to making contact during his first at-bat, swinging and missing at two of the three pitches he saw from Strider.

In addition to being the fastest in league history to 200 strikeouts in a single season (for the second year in a row), Strider became just the fifth player since 1893 to notch 200+ strikeouts in each of his first two seasons, joining Yu Darvish, Hideo Nomo, Dwight Gooden and Herb Score, according to David O’Brien.