Mark Reynolds Drops Below Mendoza Line, on Verge of Record Worst Year

Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Mark Reynolds went 0-for-3 on Friday night in a loss to the Dodgers and is now batting just .199 on the season. The notorious whiff king, who’s already been fitted with a golden sombrero, is also on the verge of setting another embarrassing mark. On top of posting the three highest strikeout totals for a hitter in a single-season, Reynolds may be become the first player ever to have a higher strikeout total than batting average.

Yes it’s true.

Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic cites baseball-reference saying that Reynolds can become the first non-pitcher to accomplish this dubious distinction, as Rotoworld shared with us. Reynolds started off the year strongly, cracking seven home runs and driving in 21 runs in April while posting a .909 OPS. Although the power numbers have been steady, Reynolds’ batting average has been low each month since the start of the season.

Unfortunately for Mark and the Diamondbacks, it’s just been a brutal September. Reynolds has slumped going 4-for-57 with only one RBI. The low average is to be expected, but as long as it comes with his usual dose of home runs it’s somewhat excusable. But this slump is as bad as it gets and it now has Mark’s average at .199. If he keeps it up, he could become the first player with at least 500 at-bats in a season to hit below .200 since Tom Tresh in 1968 (from what I can tell).

This season obviously being at the low end of things, would you want a guy like Reynolds on your team? Are his 30 home runs on average worth the 200 strikeouts and career .243 average? Is the power worth the whiffs?