That violates the basic checks and balances nature of statistics. If a pitcher is credited with a strikeout, then a batter must be charged with it. But statistics were treated casually in baseball's early days. Record-keeping was primitive at best. That's why it's dangerous to change numbers that have been in place for decades.
Inconsistencies are inevitable.
The best example comes from Anson's hit totals, which escalate and decline from time to time, depending on who is doing the counting. By then, he was retired for 10 years.