Javier Vazquez is now among the elites in strikeouts

In the sixth inning, Javier Vazquez became only the 30th pitcher in Major League history to strikeout 2,500 batters.

When it came to his milestone strikeout, Javier Vazquez was clueless. "I had no idea," Vazquez would say later.

But catcher John Buck knew, and when Vazquez whiffed Lucas Duda in the sixth inning of the Marlins’ 6-0 victory over the Mets on Tuesday night, Buck held on to the ball and took it back with him to the dugout for safekeeping.

It was the 2,500th strikeout of Vazquez’s career, and it made him the 30th pitcher in major-league history to achieve that milestone.

"I don’t know if you’re going to believe me or not," Vazquez told reporters afterward. "I didn’t even know I was close to 2,500. And then, when I got to the dugout, guys were, ‘Congratulations, congratulations.’ They let me know."

While one would think that such an achievement would warrant Hall of Fame consideration, it won't. Javy's record to this point in his career is 160-160 with an ERA of 4.27. Yeah, yeah, I know that Wins and ERA shouldn't be the stats that matter, but for those who vote, it does. Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting that Javy should be in the HOF, I don't at this point or maybe any future point, but logging 2,500 strikeouts is pretty darn impressive. And we are quite happy for him.

Seeing how he is just eight strikeouts from passing Christy Mathewson for 29th place, he should continue moving up list.