Y2K's

With the millennium approaching late in the 20th century the fear was that computers would not be able to register the change into the 2000's and they would crash, causing mass chaos.

People stocked up on canned food and water. They braced for disaster.

While the ball dropped and the date ticked over in the upper corner like any other, that quirky numbers issue has affected one critical part of American life - baseball.

Check the box scores and scroll over to the "K" column. Where there used to be more zero's and one's there are now a lot more two's and three's.

While this nearly expired decade brought us everything from 9/11 to the Octomom what it really brought on the hardball front was a whole lot more swings and misses.

Of the 24 highest single-season strikeout totals in Major League history an astounding 17 have happened in the 2000's. The top-6 have happened since I finished high school in 2004 and three of the top four strikeout totals of all-time were so majestically produced just last year.

The highest pre-1960 total came in at 294th on the list thanks to Jim Lemon's 138 in 1956.

To make matters worse only four of the top 80 single season strikeout totals were recorded by pitchers since the departure of the 90's and all of those campaigns were turned in by Randy Johnson with the last coming in 2004.

So it's not like the Y2K bug mutated and turned the league's starting pitchers into a cache of Nolan Ryan clones - the hitters are simply missing the mark at an alarming and historically atrocious rate.

Doesn't anyone choke up anymore? (Chicks dig the longball and the walk back to the dugout)

Even more puzzling than the high strikeout totals is that the players making these gaudy numbers are also at the top of the home run leader board.

As I told my dad, talk about feast or famine.

Ryan Howard who has 820 K's in 674 games, fanned 181 times in 2006 on his way to the MVP award.

When you hit 58 homers and drive in 149 runs the ring-ups are second fiddle to the writers.

In 2007 and 2008 he got rung up a record (he set it and then tied it) 199 times. But he also hit 47 dingers in '07 and 48 the following season when he finished 2nd in MVP voting.

Howard's record didn't stand for long. Like the steroid-induced home run chases of the late 90's and early 2000's guys were out to prove they could be top dog.

So Arizona's Mark Reynolds boldly went where no man had gone before - into the 200's. Blowing right past Ryan Howard's cowardly 199, Reynolds finished the season with a flourish of see ya-ness and into previously uncharted territory.

While the young third baseman slugged 28 homers in his record breaKing campaign, 2009 has brought even bigger things.

Through tonight's game - a two-homer, two-strikeout effort on his birthday - Reynolds has been on an even better pace. He's like a marathoner at the 15-mile mark in under an hour, the potential is staggering just like the implosion could be.

His two Citi Field bombs put him second in the league in home runs with 32 but his two strikeouts give him 145 in 103 games or well above his pace from last year (and 193rd all time four days into August.)

If he stays on track he could reach rare Joe Dimaggio type air. Records are made to be broken, but Disco Demolition Night was a bad idea.

At this rate he would hit 214 strikeouts and that could be as untouchable as the triples record. Highest single season mark? 36. Highest in the last 80 years? 23.

They have fences on stadiums nowadays and they are rather close. You can't just run anymore.

But you sure can strike out. So while Reynolds broke the 200-K barrier with the determination of Roger Bannister others won't want to be left in the dust.

The Challengers (It don't mean a thing, if you don't take that swing)

While the battle between Reynolds and Howard is beginning to play out like Chestnut and Kobayashi, let's not forget other prolific power hitters and swings and missers.

Jack Cust's 197 strikeouts in 2008 were an American League record and he complimented all those long walks with 33 slow trots. He has led the AL each of the last two seasons in the vaunted three strikes and your out list and has amassed another 118 so far in 09.

When it comes to all or nothing hackers no one quite fits the bill like Washington's Adam Dunn. In each of his last seven full seasons he has whiffed at least 164 times. Equally impressive is a six year 40+ homer streak.

He looks strong on both fronts again (119 and 27) but may be pressing a bit down the stretch if the pressure mounts and he is right on the cusp.

But two guys really stand out in 2009.

Carlos Pena (136 K's, 26 HR's) and the recently-eclipsed challenger Howard (128 K's, 26 HR's) are desperately swinging to stay in the race. Reynolds has set a blistering pace but if they can at least stay within striking distance history would look back on 2009 with a big smile.

Can you imagine? Three 40 HR-200 K guys?

Oh what a world it would be.