Mark Reynolds, The King

Ever since Mark Reynolds saw the "Lion King," he just couldn't wait to be king. He wanted to do everything better than others.

One day, Reynolds, Ryan Howard, and Adam Dunn all went out to dinner, and the conversation turned to baseball. It was the offseason of 2004 and Dunn just broke the single season strikeout record with 195.

"I am the strikeout king," Dunn said, not so proudly.

"Once I break the majors, I'll beat you," Howard replied.

Reynolds looked them both in the eye. "I'll be in the majors one day and I'll beat you both," he claimed in a serious manner. Reynolds was now on a mission.

In 2008, Reynolds and Howard went back and forth for the strikeout title. Howard was on pace to win, however, his September stats consisted mainly of contact instead of K's. Reynolds finished with 204 strikeouts, Howard with 199. Not only did Reynolds break Dunn's feat, but shattered it and reached the unthinkable 200 total.

But Reynolds was not done. He wanted more, and he wanted better. Reynolds sometimes had a reputation of a bully, so he decided to pick on a last place team. He thought about the Washington Nationals, but deep down he felt bad for them. He wasn't that low, so he decided to pick on the team right above them; the New York Mets.

His good friend, David Wright was on that team. They played ball together as kids growing up in Virginia. Wright warned Reynolds not to mess with Citi Field. Wright told it like a ghost story.

"It may be cursed. Stray cats cross in front of the dugouts. Sometimes, the apple doesn't go off after a home run," Wright whispered as held a shining flashlight to his face. "They even named the right field corner after an opposing player, Chase Utley."

But Reynolds was fearless. It was his 26th birthday and he wanted to give himself a present. In three games, he homered four times, the same amount of homers as his good pal, David, has at Citi Field.

Everybody was amazed. Now, Reynolds can call himself the strikeout king, and he sits on the throne at his new palace, Citi Field.

This is not a true story, although it's based on real things.