The 1983 Chase for All-Time Strikeouts

Long before we watched Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa’s PED-enhanced chase for 61 in 1998, there was an even more intense chase for 3,508 – the all-time strikeout record held by Walter Johnson from his retirement in 1927 until 1983, when Nolan Ryan, Steve Carlton and Gaylord Perry all made a run to be crowned the Strikeout King. It was Ryan who ultimately made it there first, followed by Carlton, who struck out 10 Padres on May 20, 1983, to move past Johnson and into second place, 10 behind Ryan. Perry would surpass Johnson on August 13. We were just 6 years old that summer and it was one of our first real baseball memories, solidified further when Topps commemorated the event with one of the coolest cards in its 1984 set. Unfortunately, the way things are going in the game now, it seems unlikely we’ll see another strikeout chase in our lifetimes though. Do you remember the original Chase in ’83?

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