September 27, 1973: Nolan Ryan's 383rd Strikeout

September 27, 1973: The California Angels beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-4 at Anaheim Stadium – now named Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Richie Scheinblum doubles Tommy McCraw home with the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning.

Nolan Ryan went the distance, to finish the season at 21-15. In the 8th inning, he struck McCraw out, to tie Sandy Koufax's record of 382 strikeouts in a season. He didn't get another in the 9th, but the game went to extra innings, giving him another chance. He didn't get another in the 10th, but he struck Rich Reese out in the 11th, for his 383rd strikeout.

During Reese's at-bat, Rod Carew stole 2nd base. The Anaheim crowd cheered the call of "Safe," because, if he had been called out, it would have ended the inning, and taken away Ryan's chance at a 383rd K. Instead, Carew was safe, and Ryan fanned Reese.

That total of 383 remains the single-season major league record. The following season, he struck out 367 batters, and that remains the 2nd-most in American League history, and the 3rd-most in the major leagues.

On 4 occasions, but only 1 without extra innings, Ryan struck out 19 batters in a game. From 1983 to 1986, when Roger Clemens became the 1st pitcher to strike out 20 in 9 innings, Ryan held (or, in the case of the single-season mark, shared) the records for strikeouts in a game, in a season, and in a career. He still holds the records for a season and, with 5,714, in a career.

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September 27, 1973 was a Thursday. There were 5 other Major League Baseball games played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 2-0 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Pat Dobson allowed 9 hits, but kept the shutout.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-2 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Despite being a Baltimore native, Tiger legend Al Kaline did not play. Brooks Robinson went 2-for-4. Joe Coleman Jr., son of a major league pitcher, won his 23rd game of the season, outpitching rookie Wayne Garland.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-2 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Greg Luzinski, not the fastest of men, scores the winning run in the top of the 13th inning -- on a wild pitch by Chris Zachary. Willie Stargell went 0-for-5. So did Mike Schmidt, on his 24th birthday, wrapping up a rookie season in which he batted .196 -- albeit with 18 home runs and 52 RBIs. He led the National League in home runs in each of the next 3 seasons, and average 36 home runs a year for the next 14 seasons.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals, 3-2 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Buddy Bradford won it with a home run in the bottom of the 10th inning. Jim Kaat went the distance for the win.

* And the St. Louis Cardinals beat their arch-rivals, the Chicago Cubs, 2-0 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Reggie Cleveland faced the minimum 27 batters, allowing a single Ken Rudolph in the top of the 6th inning, and then eliminated him on a double play. Lou Brock hit a home run.