A record for futility

Jim Lemon during the 1950s with the Washington Senators

Washington Senators outfielder Jim Lemon strikes out four times in a 6-3 loss to Baltimore 69 years ago today at Griffith Stadium, finishing the 1956 season with a major league-record 138 strikeouts.

Not that anyone remembers that now as Lemon’s record total from 1956 no longer ranks anywhere near the top 500 on the all-time, single-season list.

As a point of comparison, James Wood – an outfielder today with the Washington Nationals – finishes the 2025 season with a major league-leading and franchise-record 221 strikeouts.

Like Lemon, Wood spends part of his minor league career playing on Harrisburg’s City Island, where the wind often blows out – which has nothing to do with the wind generating from the bats of Lemon and Wood.

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