On Wednesday, Kodai Senga became just the eighth major league rookie in the last hundred years to collect 200+ career strikeouts and register an ERA under 3.00 in a season. His impressive 2023 rookie campaign ended in historic fashion against the team he also started his career against, the Miami Marlins.

Senga threw five strong innings, but came away with a no-decision in the Mets’ 4-2 loss to Miami on Wednesday. He gave up two earned runs on three hits, including two solo home runs (Jon Berti and Jesus Sanchez) over the course of 96 pitches thrown (59 for strikes). He also walked three, but struck out eight to finish his season with 202 career strikeouts. He collected his historic 200th career strikeout in the third inning of Wednesday night’s game. It was Jake Burger who played victim to strikeout No. 200 for Senga.

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With a no-decision on Wednesday, Senga finished his rookie season with a 12-7 record. He had a 2.98 ERA over the course of 29 starts for the Mets. In 166 1/3 innings pitched, he gave up 60 runs (55 earned runs) on 126 hits, including 17 home runs. He walked 77, but as mentioned above, struck out 202 batters. He had a .208 average against, with a 1.22 WHIP.

With 200+ strikeouts this season, Senga became just the second Mets rookie with 200 strikeouts in a season. He joins Doc Gooden, who had 276 in his 1984 rookie season.

Per Michael Mayer of Metsmerized, Senga also has the 10th most strikeouts in a season by Japanese pitchers. He sits behind Yu Darvish, who struck out 209 in 2017. He just snuck into the top ten as he sits one strikeout ahead of Dice-K, who struck out 201 in 2007.

Jessica Blaylock of Bally Sports Florida caught up with Marlins’ left-handed pitcher, Matt Moore, who pitched with Senga in Japan. “He [Senga] is about elite as they come, especially from a power standpoint,” Moore said. “His fastball is top level, and then you combine it with that forkball; it’s a tough combination. Senga could pitch on another planet, and guys still would not be able to hit him,” said Moore.

In speaking about the forkball, this was not a pitch that Buck Showalter had Senga throw much of during the spring, but throughout the regular season, it has boded well for the Mets as most of Senga’s opponents have been unable to catch up to it or figure it out. It has been Senga’s go-to strikeout pitches through the season and one of the best pitches in baseball. The ghost fork ends the season with an MLB-best 59.5 whiff percentage and limited hitters to a .147 slugging percentage.

Senga has put himself firmly into the NL Cy Young discussion and is very likely in the top two or three of the NL Rookie of the Year voting.